I III 



77ob arY OF CONGRESS 

OQOOHbat.573 



LECTURES 



WHOLE BOOK OF RUTH; 



TO WHICH ABE ADDEB, 



DISCOURSES 



037 THE 



CONDITION AND DUTY OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS, 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE IN THE CONVER- 
SION OF SINNERS, 

A20), OH TEE 

MEANS TO BE USED IN THE CONVERSION OF DUE 
NEIGHBOURS, 



BY THE REV. GEORGE LAWSON, 
It 

2IIKISTIR OP THE ASSOCIATE C02TGREGATI0X IK SELKIRK, 



ALBJUTT; 

PRINTED BY E. & E. H03F0RD, 

1816, 






£ 



~h<&r>Q}4k. 



CONTENTS, 



HISTORY OF RUTH, 
Introduction, - - Pag. v 

Lecture I. 
Chap. i. 1,-5. - - * 13 

Lecture II. 
Chap. i. 6, — -10. Naomi's return to her own 
country, 29 

Lecture III. 
Chap. i. 11, — 15. The same subject continued, 42 

Lecture IV. 
Chap. i. 16, — 18. Ruth's steadiness to her re- 
ligious profession, - - 5? 
Lecture V. 
Chap. i. 19, — 22. Ruth^s arrival with Naomi 
at Bethlehem, - ■"■• - S£ 
Lecture VI. 
Chap. ii. 1, — 4. Ruth goes to glean, and meets 
withBoaz, - ~ 82 

Lecture VII. 
Chap. ii. 5, — 14. 97 

Lecture VIII. 
Chap. ii. 15,-23. 115 



IV CONTENTS* 



Lecture IX. 

Chap. iii. 1, — 9. Ruth, at the instigation of 
Naomij lays herself down at the feet of 
Boaz, and requests him to cast his skirt over 
her, - - Pag. 130 

Lecture X. 

Chap. iii. 10, — 18. Boaz promises to Ruth to 
marry her, if her husband's neare&t kinsman: 
did not insist upon his prior right. He dis- 
misses her with a present to her mother-in- 
law, who expresses great satisfaction with her 
kind reception, - - 146 

Lecture XL 

Chap. iv. 1, — 10. Boaz, in the presence of ten 
elders of Bethlehem, procures the consent of 
Ruth-s nearest kinsman to his marriage with 
her, - - - 162 

Lecture XIL 

Chap. iv. 10 ; — 22. Ruth's marriage, and the 
birth of Obcd, - - 178 



A Discourse ok the Condition and Duty of 
Unconverted Sinners, - - 1 99 

Discourses on the Sovereignty of Grace in the 
Conversion of Sinners, - - 289 

Discourses on the Means to be used for the 
Conversion of our Neighbours, «. 363 



INTRODUCTION. 



X HE design of this book, say some, is to give us the 
genealogy of David. This certainly could not be 
the chief design either of Samuel, who is generally 
supposed to be the writer of it, or of the Spirit of God, 
in giving us this history. The genealogy of David 
from Judah is contained in very few verses, and we 
find it in several other parts of Scripture. Every 
part of the book affords rich entertainment and use- 
ful instruction. 

"What would we give for a piece of family history, 
equally ancient and authentic, of any of our own na- 
tion, or rather that nation, whatever it was, from 
whence we have derived our origin ? The holy Bible 
was not written to gratify our curiosity, and yet what 
book was ever written that can equally gratify lauda- 
ble curiosity about the occurrences and manners of 
former ages ? 

This book is one of those which were written by 
inspiration of God, and must therefore be exceeding- 
ly profitable to us, if we read it with a due attention to 
those instructions which it is designed to impress on 
our minds. It is not one of those books in which we 
are to look for new instructions. The religion recom- 
mended in it is that which had been already taught 
B2 



VI INTRODUCTION 

by Moses ; but it impresses deeply upon the mind of 
the attentive reader many truths highly conducive 
to holiness, and to the happiness even of the pre- 
sent life. 

We find in this book, that private families are as 
much the objects of divine regard as the houses of 
princes. The sacred writers that give us the history 
of Saul and David, give us likewise the history of 
Naomi and Ruth. What are the rich and great more 
than the mean and indigent, before God ? The great- 
er part of the kings and princes that reigned three 
thousand years ago are now utterly forgotten ; but the 
names of Boaz and Ruth shall live whilst the world 
lasts. It is to be hoped that many other precious saints 
lived in these ancient times, whose names are now 
not heard of in this world. But the same God who 
caused the names of some to be recorded in that book 
of life which he hath given us for our instruction, hath 
recorded the names of all of them in another book of 
life, to be opened and read, at the consummation of 
all things, in the ears of all mankind. 

That in this life we must expect changes, is another 
of the truths of which this book reminds us. " Chan- 
ges and war are against me," said one of the best 
men of ancient times. Naomi, one of the best of wo- 
men, met with such vicissitudes, that she wished to 
have her name changed into Marah. We all know 
that we are constantly exposed to changes and yet we 
all need to be put in mind of it. One great part of 
our unhappiness is, that we forget the mutability of 
our present condition ; and therefore, when trouble 
comes upon us, we behave as if some strange thing 
happened to us. 



INTRODUCTION, Vil 

But a lesson more useful and more pleasant is im- 
pressed upon our minds by this book— that God 
does not forsake those who trust in him at the time 
when they are visited with^ the bitterest afflictions. 
" I will be with him in trouble, to deliver him." The 
history before us is a comment on this promise. 
Many were the afflictions of Ruth and Naomi ; but 
the Lord delivered them out of them all, and, accor- 
ding to the days wherein he had afflicted them, he 
made them glad. 

But what distinguishes this book from other sacred 
books is, the charming picture it gives us of domestic 
felicity in the lowest rank of life, and in persons de- 
prived of those friends to whom men or women use to 
look for felicity. Naomi was bereaved, by the king 
of terrors, of her husband and of all her children. 
Ruth was bereaved of the husband of her youth, and 
was left childless. They both felt their griefs like 
women of tender sensibility ; yet they were neither 
discontented nor unhappy. There were three things 
which contributed to preserve them from sinking into 
despondency, and that rendered them happier under 
their afflictions than many other persons find them- 
selves in the most prosperous circumstances. 

First, Their piety. They trusted in God. Naomi 
doubtless had taught Ruth the knowledge of the God 
of Israel before she brought her into the land of 
Israel; for "she came, 55 as Boaz says, "" to trust 
under his wings, 55 Ruth ii. 12. In the low circum- 
stances of both these women, they hoped in God, 
they submitted to his providence ; and they 
could not be miserable in any situation in which his 
providence placed them. 



$111 INTRODUCTION. 

Secondly, They loved one another with & fond af- 
fection ; and where there is true love there will be 
pleasure, where there is mutual love there will be 
happiness. 

Thirdly, Their behaviour towards one another was 
a continual expression of their mutual love. There 
were none of those brawlings, unkind reflections, and 
fits of sullenness, amongst them that often embitter 
domestic life. Naomi never complained of too little 
respect from Ruth, never exercised her authority with 
bitterness, never distressed her daughter-in-law with 
peevish complaints of the afflictions of her former life ? 
or of neglect from her kinsman, or of her other friends* 
The law of kindness was in her mouth, and it was 
evident from every part of her conduct, that she set as 
high a value on Ruth's happiness as on her own., 
Ruth, on her side, considered the desires of her mo- 
ther-in-law as commands which she was happy to 
obey, and did every thing in her power to compensate 
to her the loss of her husband and her sons. So wise 
and affectionate was her behaviour, that the townsmen 
thought her better to Naomi than seven sons. 

Our natural tempers will have much influence to 
make our lives happy or miserable. If they are hap- 
py,- they will dispose us to be cheerful, and to pro- 
mote cheerfulness in others. If they are unhappy, 
the bad effect of them will be felt by our neighbours, 
especially by those who are under the same roof with 
us. But we are rational creatures, capable of instruc- 
tion and of reflection.' We are all desirous of hap- 
piness; and, if we find any thing in ourselves that 
makes it impossible to attain happiness- is it not our 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

wisdom to put it far from us ? Why should a disease be 
suffered to embitter our days and endanger our lives, 
if a remedy can be found ? 

And does not the Scripture furnish us with remedies 
for every distemper of our hearts ? The words of God 
are healing words. The entrance of them gives light 
to the understanding, peace and purity to the heart. 
The naturally bad tempers of men must be changed 
where they produce their proper effect. The wolf 
and the lamb, the lion and the cow, are made to feed 
together where the gospel is received by faith. It 
must be confessed, that vestiges of our corrupt dispo- 
sitions will still continue to blemish our conduct till the 
body of sin be destroyed ; but, beholding as in a glass 
the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same 
image from glory to glory. Nor are the virtues of 
the ancient saint6 without their effect upon the atten- 
tive reader of the Bible. Although Paul never ceases 
to call upon us to look to Jesus as the author and fin- 
isher of our faith, yet he frequently puts us in mind 
likewise of the advantage we may derive from a due 
attention to the virtues and graces which appeared 
in those that have gone before us to heaven. As we 
all ought to walk in the steps of the faith of our father 
Abraham, all women, as the apostle Peter tells us, are 
bound to imitate Sarah in obedience to their husbands, 
and in meekness and goodness of spirit. Naomi and 
Ruth were two of those holy women, who, he says, 
adorned themselves, as all women ought to do, with 
that ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is, in 
the sight of God, of great price. 

You are charmed with the lovely beauties of domes- 



X INTRODUCTION. 

tic harmony and affection which adorned these good 
women. Yon praise them. You would be glad to 
see mothers and daughters by blood or affinity, hus- 
bands and wives, mistresses and maid-servants, living 
together in amity, and contributing, as they did, to 
one another's felicity. Why then do you not imitate 
them ? are your tempers so incurable, that there is no 
possibility of persuading you to prefer the glory of 
God and your own happiness, to the gratification of 
humours and passions which appear to yourselves 
detestable ? 

Read this history, not to gratify your curiosity, but 
to improve your hearts. Remember that you are 
bound, by the authority of God, to imitate the meek- 
ness and gentleness of Christ and of his saints* The 
grace revealed in the gospel teaches us to deny every 
lust of the flesh and of the mind, and to practise every 
lovely virtue. The power of the H©Jy Spirit can 
subdue our rough tempers, and beautify us with those 
graces of holiness by which the gospel of Christ is 
adorned, and his own word is the great mean which 
he uses for fulfilling in us the good pleasure of the di- 
vine goodness. Not only faith, but every fruit of the 
Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, meekness, temperance, are produced 
through the word of truth ; and the short history of 
Ruth, is as really a part of the word of truth, as'those 
books which give us the history of our Lord's life 
and death. 

The female sex may likewise learn from this book 
a lesson of great use to them— how fthey may pre- 
serve their beauty, and make themselves amiable in 



INTRODUCTION. Si 

old age. It is the glory of those trees of righteous- 
ness which are planted in the house of ihe Lord, to 
bring forth fruit in old age. It is the privilege of 
those women who are i with the beauties of 

, holiness, that old age does not wither, but improves 
their beauties, Sarah's face was so lovely at ninety 
years of age, that her chastity r;as brought into dan- 
ger at the court of G era .r. The daughters of Sarah, 
in the most advanced period of their lives, possess 
beauties more charming, and less dangerous. Naomi 
was not less lovely than Ruth, and ? had Elimelech 
been alive, she would have been as dear to him when 
she was approaching to the grave, as in the day when 
he first received her into his arms. 

The male sex, as well as the female, may derive 
useful instruction from this book. Consider Boaz as 
a master, as a friend, as a neighbour, as a man of 
consequence and wealth, as an honest man. In all 
these respects, you will find him worthy of esteem and 
imitation. 

If young and old, rich and poor, masters and ser- 
vants, do not find useful instruction in this book, 
the fault is their own. It is easily understood, and 
scarcely needs a comment for explication. But it 
may be useful to have some of those practical instruc- 
tions which it contains set before us, that we may be 
assisted in meditating upon this part of the word of 
God. It was doubtless one of those books of Scrip- 
ture in which David found such delightful and 
nourishing food to his soul. O that the holy Spirit, 
who wrought so powerfully in the heart of that bles- 
sed man, would work in us the same temper. The* 



SIX INTRODUCTION, 

we would find a feast for our souls in every por- 
tion of Scripture. Our days would be a continual 
festival, because we could always find food ready at 
hand, more delightful to our taste than honey from the 
comb. 



. 



THE 

HISTORY 



OF 



RUTH, 



LECTURE I. 



ChaPo i. 1,— 5> 

JL HE intention of this history, according to some, 
is, to trace the genealogy of David from Salmon, 
the son of Nahshon, prince of the children of Ju- 
dah, at the death of Moses. But this part of the ge- 
nealogy of David and of Christ, could have been gi- 
ven us without writing a whole book. It is given us 
in not more than two verses by the writer of the first 
book of Chronicles, 1 Chron. ii, 11, 12, 15. and in 
little more than one by Matthew, ch. i. 5, 6. 

The reading of the book is sufficient to convince us, 
that it was written to furnish us with the most useful 
instructions in righteousness. It gives us a beauti- 
ful picture of female virtue, first shining in the midst 
of poverty, and then crowned with felicity. Let 
all women read this book, and learn those virtues 
which will adorn them with honour and beauty. Let 

B 



14 THE HISTORY JTLeCt. !• 

poor and afflicted women read this book, and learn 
to bear their troubles with a becoming sense of the 
divine agency in their trials, with patience, with 
meekness, with all those gracious tempers which will 
endear them to their friends, and furnish them with 
agreeable reflections at the end of their distresses. 

But why should w~e speak at present of all these 
precious advantages which may be gained from this 
book ? Every part of it is rich in instruction, and the 
instruction is conveyed to us in a story, which never 
failed to interest any reader, who was not utterly des- 
titute of human sensibilities. 

Ver. 1. — Now it came to pass, in the days when 
the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land: 
and a certain man of Bethlehem- Judah went to so- 
journ in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his 
two sons. 

We are not told the precise time of the story re- 
corded in this book. And why should, we be solici- 
tous to know what God has not put it in our power 
to know ? One thing appears certain, that Ruth be- 
came the wife of a son of Rahab the harlot, who was 
famous for her faith and her works in the time of 
Joshua. But we have reason likewise to believe 
that Boaz, the son of Rahab, was a very old man 
when he married Ruth, for he was the grandfather of 
Jesse, the father of David* Between the entrance 
of Joshua into Canaan, and the birth of David, there 
intervened three hundred and sixty-six years, which 
are to be divided amongst four progenitors of that il- 
lustrious prince. 

Now it came to pass in the time of the judges who 
mlfid. Israel, that is ? in the time when Israel was not 



Ch. 1. 1, 5.] OF RUTH, l;§ 

under regal government, but after the days of Joshua, 
The expression does not necessarily imply that a 
judge ruled at the time when Elimeleeh went into the 
country of Moab. It was a famine that drove him 
from his own country, and famines, with other public 
calamities, were most frequent in the intervals of the 
government of the judges. 

There was a famine in the land. The land of Is- 
rael was a land of milk and honey, the pleasant land 
which God had chosen for his people Israel ; and yet 
we often read of famines in this land. Think not 
that the fertility of a land is able to secure its inhabi- 
tants against famine, or that any earthly advantage is . 
sufficient to secure us against any calamity whatso- 
ever. Ail things are in the hand of God, and his 
creatures change their qualities or effects at his plea- 
sure. Without him, we should die of hunger amidst 
plenty, we should be miserable amidst all possible 
means of happiness. But, through the kindness of 
his providence, many have been w 7 ell satisfied in the 
days of famine, or in a w^aste howling wulderness. 

But why does God send a famine on the land which 
he had chosen for his own people ; upon the seed of 
Abraham, whom God had called out of the land of 
the Chaldees, to give this fertile land to his seed? 
There is no reason to doubt that this famine was 
well deserved by the sins of the people ; for the Lord 
had promised, that as long as they walked in his law, 
they should enjoy his blessing on their land, on their 
basket, and on their store. But he had threatened 
famine, and many other calamities, as the just re** 
ward of their deeds if they should apostatize Jram 
him* 



1& THE HISTORY [LeCt. 1* 

We have never felt famine, although we have well 
deserved it. We have indeed felt scarcity, and stood 
in fear of famine. But the Lord hath hitherto dealt 
wondrously with us, in supplying us with the necessa* 
ries, and many of us with the comforts of life. Let 
us bless God who hath hitherto preserved us from this 
terrible judgment. Let us be deeply sensible, that^ 
whatever we may want of the good things of this life, 
we have much more than we deserve. In days of 
scarcity, let us call to mind those famines in which 
the sufferers would have thought themselves happy as 
kings, if they could have been supplied but once in 
two or three days with that bread which we eat every 
day of our life. 

And a certain man of Bethlehem- J udah went to so** 
journ in the country of Moab. The Jews often gave 
flames to persons, or places 3 expressive of something 
that was true concerning them. Bethlehem, which 
signifies the "house of bread, 55 seems to have been a 
place famous, even in the pleasant land, for its fer- 
tility. Yet even in this fruitful district of a fruitful 
country, famine prevailed to such a degree, that one 
of its proprietors was compelled, by the want of breads 
to leave it, and seek food in a foreign country. We 
may reasonably conjecture, from the behaviour of 
Naomi, that her husband was a fearer of God. And 
yet he is forced to seek bread in the land of Moab r 
where his God was unknown. Men are commonly 
attached to their native soil; but none among us are 
so much attached to our native country, as the an*, 
cient Israelites were to theirs, those of them especial- 
ly who were lovers of the religion and of the God of 
their fathers. There is a great difference between $ 



Ch.i. 1,-5. OF RUTH. 17 

Scotsman going to America, and an Israelite going to 
dwell in the land of Moab. In many places of Ame- 
rica, our God and our Saviour is as well known as 
amongst ourselves. Should you want bread at home, 
you would not account it a very great hardship to 
go to a strange land, where you might find bread to 
your bodies, and at the same time find provision for 
your souls. But you would almost perish with hunger 
rather than go to live among the Turks ; and yet 
the Turks are not so great enemies to the name of 
Christ, as the Moabites were to the name of the God 
of Israel* 

Some blame this Ephrathite for going to sojourn in 
the land of Moab. Why (say they) did he not rather 
bear all the hardships of famine, as well as his neigh- 
bours, rather than go to dwell amongst heathens, 
amongst such heathens as the Moabites, of whom the 
Lord had said, " Even to their tenth generation, they 
shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord for 
ever. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their pros- 
perity all thy days for ever ?" 

It is not necessary to enquire, nor is it perhaps pos- 
sible to determine with certainty, whether this Beth- 
lehemite did right or wrong in going to sojourn in the 
land of Moab. Yet no man ought to be condemned, 
whether dead or alive, without proofs of guilt ; and no 
certain proofs of guilt appear in the present case. 
Undoubtedly, the people of God were commanded 
not to mingle themselves with the heathens, lest they 
should learn their ways ; but they were not absolute- 
ly prohibited to sojourn in a strange land. When im- 
perious necessity forced David to dwell in the tenf£ 

B2 



IS THE HISTORY ■ [LeCt« f» 

of Kedar, or in the city of Gath, or Ziklag, he was lo 
fee pitied rather than blamed. 

The children of Israel were forbidden to do any 
servile work on the Sabbath day, and yet when the 
disciples were accused for rubbing the ears of corn to 
prepare them for food on that day, our Lord justified 
their conduct on the ground of necessity, and silenced 
his enemies by producing the example of David, whom 
these hypocrites themselves did not blame for eat- 
ing, when hunger compelled him, that shew-bread 
which it was lawful for the priests only, in ordinary 
eases, to eat. And have we not read what David did 
in another case^howhe sent his father and mother to 
the king of Moab, to dwell with him, till he knew what' 
God would do for him ? 

It is not certain that none but this Bethlehemite 
went at this time to sojourn in Moab. We read of 
Israelites that dwelt in Moab, and attained high sta- 
tions in it, although we cannot tell at what period, 1 
Chron. iv. 22, 23. Nor can we tell what connections 
might be formed amongst individuals of Israel and of 
Moab, when both nations were under one lord, Judges 
iii. If Naomi's family were like herself, they could 
not but conciliate the regard and love of all that knew 
them, whether Moabites or Israelites. A sweet tem- 
per disarms the fierceness of savages. 

It seems probable that this family lived under, or 
near the time of Ehud's administration, although we 
cannot certainly tell why they chose rather to go to 
the land of Moab than to any other country. One 
thing is evident, that there was plenty of bread^ and 
to spare, in the land of Moab, when little was to be 
had in the land of Israel* What shall we »say to 



Ch. i. I ; — 5.] or tttrra. lj> 

this ? Were the Israelites greater sinners than the 
Moabites ? or were they less favoured by that God 
who causeth the corn to grow up out of the earth ? 
Neither of these conclusions would be just. The 
Moabites were great sinners, for they were apostates 
from the religion of their father Lot, and worshippers 
of Chcmosh. But God then suffered all nations to 
walk in their own way, except his chosen people* 
Them only he knew of all the families of the earthy 
therefore he punished them for their iniquities. Be- 
cause God was gracious to them, he would not suffer 
them to walk in their own ways, that he might turn 
them again to himself. 

Many times was Israel afflicted by various calami- 
ties, but " Moab was at ease from his youth. 55 Was 
Moab then happier than Israel ? No, in no wise. 
He was miserable. u He was at ease from his youth, 
and he settled on his lees, neither did he go into cap- 
tivity ; therefore his taste remained in him, and his 
scent was not changed. Therefore, behold the days 
came at last, that the Lord sent wanderers that caus- 
ed him to wander, and emptied his vessels, and brake' 
his bottles/' Elimelech went to sojourn in the coun- 
try of Moab, not to dwell there longer than necessity 
compelled him. He chose rather to dwell in the 
Lord's land than any where else ; but who can en- 
dure the rage of hunger ? We cannot always dwell 
where we wish, but if at any time we are forced to 
sojourn at a distance from the place where God's 
name is known and preached, our hearts ought to be 
left in the sanctuary. David was sometimes compel- 
led to sojourn in the tents of Kedar, but he ever loved 
the habitation of God's house, and his heart was pouv- 



20 THE HISTOKY [LeCt. f. 

ed out within him when he thought of the pleasures 
of the sanctuary. 

He, and his wife, and his two sons* It is possible 
that if he had wanted a family, he might have been 
able to live at home. In times of extreme scarcity, 
a family may be as a heavy burden upon the minds 
of the poor, who know not how to satisfy the appe- 
tites of their little ones, and cannot open their under- 
standings to make them sensible of the necessity of 
wanting what cannot be had. Our Lord speaks of 
times when it is miserable to be with child or to give 
suck ; and Paul tells married persons, that they ought, 
in times of distress, to look for troubles in the flesh. 
Beware, however, of dissatisfaction with the provi- 
dence of God, which has given you families. Amidst 
all the anxiety that you feel about the means of their 
subsistence, would you be willing to lose any of them? 
Would you not rather rise early and sit up late, and 
eat the bread of sorrow, in labouring for their subsis- 
tence ? 

The man's wife, with his two sons, went with him. 
We are not told whether Naomi was willing to go to a 
strange land, but we have reason to believe that she 
was willingly obedient to her husband. She was one 
of those wives whose law is their husband's will in 
all things wherein the laws of God leave them at lib- 
erty. These are the women who are qualified to 
give and to receive happiness in the married state. 
But those men are brutes, rather than husbands, who 
put the temper of such wives to a severe trial, when 
irresistible necessity does not compel them. It was 
necessity that compelled the Bethlehemite to remove 
his family to the land of Moab. His wife saw the 



Ch. i. 1, 5.J OF RUTH* 21 

necessity of the case, and therefore she did not think 
of returning, when she was become her own mistress^ 
till the necessity was removed* 

Ver. 2. — And the name of the man was Elimelech y 
and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his 
two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethle- 
hem- Judah. And they came into the country of Moab 3 
and continued there. 

The mention of the names of the father, mother^ 
and sons, gives an air of truth to the narration, and 
tends to interest us in their fortunes. When we 
know the names of persons, we seem to ourselves to 
be in some degree acquainted with them, and there- 
fore when we hear of any remarkable event befalling 
any person, we wish to know his name, although we 
can have no opportunity of ever seeing him. 

We are not told of what lineage this family was,, 
but we learn afterwards that they were nearly rela- 
ted to the noblest of the families of Judah. Chilion 
and Mahlon were almost the nearest of the kinsmen 
of Boaz, who was the son of Salmon, the son of Nah- 
shon, prince of the tribe of Judah in the days of Mo» 
ses. Greatness will secure no families from poverty 
and want. Many who once rode in their own cha- 
riots, have been compelled to subsist on the bountj 
of others. 

The family were Ephrathites of Bethlehem-Judah* 
Bethlehem was not the least among the cities of Ju- 
dah. It was the city of Boaz, the city of David, the 
city out of which came forth to God that Ruler of Is- 
rael, whose goings forth were of old from everlasting* 
What city ever deserved so well to be renowned, ex» 
cept Jerusalem, where God long dwelt, where Jesus 



%$ the history [Lect. L 

himself preached, and from whence his word of grace 
went forth to the nations ? 

And they were in the country of Moab, and continu- 
ed there* In the former verse, we are told that they 
went to sojourn in the country of Moah. They set out 
from their own country with a design to sojourn in 
the land of Moab. Here we learn that they actually 
accomplished their purpose of going into the country 
of Moab, and there they continued longer perhaps 
than they wished or intended. They hoped that in 
a year or two they might find it convenient to return 
to the land of Israel. When we go from home, it 
depends entirely on the will of God whether we shall 
arrive at the place of our destination. When we are 
in it, it depends no less on the divine pleasure whe- 
ther we shall ever again see the place from which we 
went out. " A man's heart deviseth his way, but the 
Lord directetb his steps." Beware of bringing upon 
yourselves the punishment that came upon the proud 
king of Babylon, because he did not glorify that God 
in whose hand his breath was, and whose were all 
his ways. Do you say, that to-morrow you will go 
into such a city, and buy, and sell, and get gain ? Say 
rather, If the Lord will, we shall live, and go into that 
city. In him you live, in him you move, in him you 
have your being. 

Ver. 3. — And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died? 
and she was left, and her two sons. 

" What is our life ? It is a vapour which appeareth 
only for a little while, and then vanisheth away." 
Elimelech went only to sojourn in the country of 
Moab ; but the same reasons which compelled him 
•o go to that land, compelled him to continue in % 



Ch. i. 1,— 5.] op ruth* 23 

Sill a stronger necessity compelled him to go the way 
whence he was never to return. Amidst all your 
trials, remember that the greatest of all trials is ap- 
proaching, and perhaps nearer than you imagine. 
Do you fear that you shall want bread in times of 
•scarcity ? Perhaps before they are at an end your 
lives may end* Are you obliged to leave your native 
fields ? The time is fast approaching when you must 
leave the world. Why should dying creatures be 
perplexed about things that they may never need, 
and at most cannot enjoy long ? Death will soon le- 
vel the distinction between the most affluent and the 
most indigent of the sons of men; and, therefore, let 
the rich enjoy their portion in this world without abu- 
sing it, or placing their confidence in what must be 
theirs but a very short time. And let not the poor be 
greatly dejected by the want of what they cannot long 
need. If we can procure but food and raiment, let 
lis therewith be content ; for we brought nothing into 
the world with us, and it is certain that we can carry 
nothing hence. 

And she was left, and her two sons. It was no 
doubt a grief to Elimelech, if he felLthe approaches 
of death, to leave his wife, and his two young sons, 
in a strange land, in a land of heathens, poor, and, 
for aught we know, almost friendless. When you 
clause your place of abode, if you have families, or 
may have families, let this be one principal consider- 
ation, where you will leave them if God should call 
you out of the world. Wnat cheerless prospects must 
present themselves to the view of a good man leaving 
a. young family in the midst of neighbours that have 



$4 THE HISTORY [LeCt. 1# 

never heard of the grace of God, or never paid any 
regard to what they have heard ! 

She was left of her husband with two sons. How 
much was this good woman to be pitied ! £$ie was 
left in a state of indigence* Her sons, very proba* 
bly, were come to that time of life in which they might 
be of some use to her ; but she had lost that friend in 
whom her hope rested for the support and government 
of her family, in its distressed and dangerous condi- 
tion. I call its condition dangerous, not because they 
were in a country of enemies to their nation, although 
the Moabites were seldom the friends of Israel, but 
because they dwelt in a land devoted to the worship 
of Chemosh. Without the comforts of religion, Na- 
omi's heart must have died within her ; yet in a short 
time afterwards, the Lord added new affliction to her 
former griefs. 

Ver. 4. — And they took them -wives of the women of 
Mcab ; the name of the one was Orpah, and the 
name of the other Ruth, and they dzvelt there about ten 
years. 

Many blame these young men for marrying wives 
of the daughters of Moab ; and certainly they were 
much to be blamed for marrying them, if they had 
not credible evidence that these young women were 
convinced of the folly of worshipping Chemosh, and 
cordially disposed to join with their husbands in the 
worship of the God of Israel. When Ezra was in- 
formed that the holy seed had mingled themselves with 
the Moabites, and with other idolatrous nations, by 
marrying their daughters, he was filled with almost 
inconsolable grief. Nothing but the expulsion of the 
strange wives could dispel his anxious apprehensions. 



Ch. i. 1 ,-*-&] °* RUTR * 25 

of the wrath of God, merited by the conjunction of 
the men of Israel with the people of these abomina- 
tions. 

If Chilion and Mahlon had good reason to think 
that their intended wives were sincere proselytes to 
their religion, they deserve no blame, but rather 
praise. But whether they were justifiable or ex- 
cusable, or neither the one nor the other, it is perhaps 
impossible for any man to determine, because we 
have not sufficient knowledge of the circumstances 
of the case. Certain it is, that Salmon did well in 
marrying Rahab, who belonged to a worse race of 
people thaijfrthe Moabites, for she renounced the 
idols and abominations of her country, and shewed 
her faith in the God of Israel by her works* Per- 
haps the example of Salmon, to whom this family 
was related, induced them to venture upon this al- 
liance with strangers. But why should we pronounce 
a sentence against any man, when we are neither 
called to be his judges, nor furnished with means for 
judging? 

This we know with certainty, that whether Elime- 
lech did right or wrong in going with his family into 
the land of Moab, which led the way to their mar- 
riages, and whether the sons of Elimelech did right 
or wrong in contracting these marriages, the provi- 
dence of God, by what it did, was accomplishing its 
own gracious purposes. Ruth was one of God's 
elect. She was to be brought to the knowledge and 
love of the truth by her connection with the family 
of Elimelech. The happiness which she gained, was 
a good compensation for all the distresses which this 
family had endured, for all that the land of Israel had 

c 



26 THE HISTORY [Lect. 1. 

suffered by a ten years' famine. Little did the pious 
remnant in Israel know, when they were deploring the 
miseries of the poor, that the famine was to be sub- 
servient to the salvation of a precious soul in the land 
of Moab. 

They dwelt about ten years in the land of Moab* 

It seems that Naomi could not return sooner on ac- 
count of the famine. What a dreadful scourge was 
this famine often years ! We need not think it strange 
that Elisha sent away his friend the Shunamite to so- 
journ in a strange land, when there were to be seven 
years of famine. Every year in the course of this 
famine must have made a very great ac#ssion to the 
miseries of the poor, or rather of the whole people* 
We find that a second year of dearth is likely to be 
worse than the first, although the price of provisions 
is not so high, because money is more scarce. What 
would seven or ten years of scarcity be, although 
they should not amount to a famine ? Blessed be God 
who has not year after year turned the rain of our 
land into powder and dust! 

Ver. 5. — And Mahlon and Chilton died also, both 
of them, and the woman was left alone of her two sons 
and her husband* 

Poor woman! what will she now do, bereaved of 
both her sons, after her husband ? Might not one of 
them at least have been spared for her comfort ? Let 
us not speak in this manner, lest we should seem to 
charge God with folly. God's thoughts are not as 
our thoughts. If God loved this woman, we think 
that he would have left her one or another, at least, 
of her family, if not all of them. Yet all of them die, 
and leave her desolate in the land of Moab, far from 






Ch. i. 1, — 5.] of ruth. * 27 

all their relations that were yet left in Bethlehem* 
The love or hatred of God is not to be estimated by 
our feelings, or by our reasonings, unsupported by the 
Bible, 

Naomi might probably think that she was one of 
the most unhappy women in the land, when necessity 
compelled her to leave the land of Israel, When she 
afterwards lost her husband, she might think that then 
only she began to be miserable, and that she greatly- 
erred when she thought herself unhappy before this 
calamity Befel her. But when she afterwards lost 
first one and then another of her sons, new thoughts 
would come into her mind. Then she might suppose 
that she had complained too heavily of the loss of her 
husband, and was not duly thankful to God for sparing 
her sons. Now at last, and not before, she might think 
that the Lord dealt bitterly with her, and had made 
desolate all her company. When heavy calamities 
befal you, beware of speaking unadvisedly with your 
lips. Beware of gloomy and impatient thoughts. 
Say not that God has bereaved you of all earthly 
comforts, when he has reduced you to poverty, if 
your friends are preserved alive. If some of your 
nearest friends are cut off by a stroke, still you must 
not say that nothing is left to sweeten life, when others 
are left whom you love. It is presumptuous in mor- 
tals, in sinful mortals, to think or talk as if the Lord 
had forgotten to be merciful. 

Naomi's thoughts of God's dealings with her upon 
earth are now very different from what they were ^hen 
these two things came upon her, the loss of children 
and widowhood. All these things appeared then to 
be against her. But now she knows and sees that all 



%8 THE HISTORY [Lcct. K 

these things were fruits of the love of God. Amidst 
your perplexing thoughts about the occurrences of 
life, it will be profitable to consider what you will 
think an hundred years hence of these adversities 
which now spread such a dismal gloom upon your 
spirits. Blessed are the men who firmly believe that 
God is wiser than themselves, and who act according 
to that belief by a patient resignation to God under 
every trial. They will see at last, and they believe 
at present, that all the paths of the Lord are mercy 
and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testi- 
monies. At last it will be found, that we could not, 
without great loss, have wanted any of those trials of 
faith which once were ready to overwhelm our spirits « 



Ch. i. 6 ; — 10.] of ruth. 2-9 

LECTURE II. 



NAOMI'S RETURN TO IIER OWN COUNTRY- 

Chap. i. 6. 10. 



Ver. 6. — Then she arose with her daughter s4n*lat^ 
(hat she might return from the country of Moab ; for 
she had heard in the country of Moab. hozo thai the 
Lord had visited his people in giving them bread* 

NAOMI would no doubt often say within herself. 
Woe is me that I dwell so long in the country of Moal\ 
that I sojourn year after year amongst the worshippers 
of Chemosh ! Yet she found herself under the unhap- 
py necessity of continuing among them till she could 
entertain the prospect of being able to live in her own 
country. It was David's most earnest desire, that he 
might dwell all the days of his life in the house of the 
Lord ; yet, more than once, he found it absolutely ne- 
cessary to dwell amongst heathens. But as soon as 
God opened to him the way to return to the Lord's 
land, he gladly and thankfully improved the opportu- 
nity. 

Naomi justly thought that the Lord called her back 
to Bethlehem, when she heard that he had visited his 
C2 



30 the history [Lect. L 2». 

people in giving them bread. She might now enter- 
tain rational hopes of finding the needful supports of 
life in her own land. She could not hope to make the 
figure at Bethlehem which she did in the days when 
the candle of the Lord shined upon her head, when her 
husband was yet with her, when her children were 
about her, when the family estate supplied it with the 
means of keeping a plentiful table ; but she might hope 5 
by the labour of her hands, and the kindness of her 
friends, to live in a manner suited to the circumstances 
in which divine providence had now placed her. It is 
not pleasant to flesh and blood to be reduced to a de- 
pendent condition. But humbling dispensations of 
providence ought always to be attended with a corres- 
pondent humiliation of spirit, unless we desire misery 
as our portion, and, what is still worse, to be found 
fighting against the Almighty. His will must be done ; 
and, if our will stand in opposition to his, it must bend 
or break. 

She had heard in the country of Moab, that the Lord 
had visited his people. In the land of strangers, she 
was always anxious to hear what was passing in the 
land of Israel. She still took an interest in that coun- 
try for her own sake, for her friend's and brethren's 
sake, for the Lord's sake. Although she was dwel- 
ling in a land well supplied with bread and wine, (Isa* 
xv.) yet she felt deeply for the poor Israelites in their 
own land who where punished with hunger. She 
mourned for the long continuance of the famine, and 
was filled with joy in the midst of her sorrows,when she 
heard that the Lord had visited his people in mercy. 
Thus Nehemiah, at the court of Shushan, was ever 
careful to be informed of what was passing in the land 



Ch. i. 6, — 10.] op ruth. 31 

of Judah. He was rich and great, and enjoyed the fa- 
vour of the greatest prince in the world ; but his hap- 
piness could not be complete unless he heard that his 
people were happy* 

The Lord visited his people in giving them bread* 
"Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it," says Da- 
vid, " thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God 
which is full of water, thou preparest them corn, when 
thou hast so provided for it.* 1 The Psalmist teaches us 
to consider every fertilizing shower from heaven, as 
a kind of visitation from that God who keeps the 
clouds in his hand^and " turns them about by his coun- 
sels to do whatsoever he commands them upon the face 
of the world, in the earth." When Naomi heard that 
plenty was restored in the land of Israel, she saw that 
the Lord had visited his people, and brought with him 
a rich present of suitable supplies for their necessity. 
She had seen, that even the land flowing with milk and 
honey could not supply its inhabitants with the neces- 
saries of life, unless God were pleased to " hear the 
heavens, that the heavens might hear the earth, and 
the earth hear the corn and the wine and the oil, that 
they might hear his people." 

If God, after nine years of scarcity^ should return to 
us in mercy, and give us abundance of bread to eat ? 
would we not confess that we could never be sufficient- 
ly thankful to God for his undeserved bounty 2 But 
have we not still greater reason to be thankful, when 
scarcity is hardly felt in one year out of ten ? Why 
should we need cleanness of teeth to make us sensible 
of that bounty by which we are fed every day of our 
Jives ? If you were in a dependent condition, and one 
of your friends should supply you once in a week 



32 the history [Lect. 2. 

with provisions for your table, would you not reckon 
yourselves highly indebted to his goodness ? But would 
it not be esteemed by you an higher act of kindness to 
make a settled provision for your subsistence, that you 
might never want what is needful ? If rare mercies 
from God are acknowledged with thankfulness, (and 
who can be unthankful for them ?) what praises are 
due to him for mercies showered down upon us, every 
day in our lives. 

Then she arose zvith her daughters-in-law , that she 
might return from the country of Mo ah, — 

Ver. 7. — Wherefore, she went forth out of the place 
where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her f 
and they went on the way to return into the land of Ju* 
dah. 

One of these young widows, we have reason to think, 
was still a heathen. And yet (let many Christians 
blush !) she, as well as her religious sister-in-law, be- 
haves in a dutiful and respectful manner to her hus- 
band's mother. May we not say, that the daughter 
who behaves undutifully to her mother, and even the 
daughter-in-law who is an adversary to her mother-in- 
law, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel ? 
If your parents, by nature or marriage, were rich, you 
would treat them with respect, because you would 
hope to share in their prosperity ; but Naomi was 
poor, and a stranger in the land of Moab, and yet her 
daughters-in-law treated her with kindness while she 
lived near them, and would not suffer her to leave the 
country without accompanying her in the way, and 
doing her all the service they could. Their husbands 
were dead. Their relation to Naomi might seem to 
some to be utterly dissolved 5 but their love was 



Ch. i. 6, — 10.] of ruth. 33 

strengthened rather than abated. And why should it 
not ? Are we to withdraw our affections from our 
friends because the Lord hath afflicted them ? The 
death of husbands or wives will not put an end to the 
friendship of those who are allied by marriage, unless 
there has been bad behaviour on the one side, or an 
ungenerous spirit on the other. That which loudly calls 
for sympathy, can never be a good reason for cold- 
ness. 

Ver. 8. — And Naomi said unto her two daughters* 
in-law, Go, return each to her mother's house; the 
Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the 
dead and with me. 

Orpah and Ruth were greatly attached to their mo- 
ther-in-law, although their own mothers were still 
alive. They did not stand in need of Naomi's friend- 
ship, but she needed theirs. Her afflictions and de- 
solate condition endeared her so much to them, that 
ihey seemed to pay more attention to her than to their 
own mothers ; and, on some accounts, she was bet- 
ter entitled to their sympathy. She seems to have 
travailed in birth with them, that the promised Christ 
might be formed in them, and probably she was in 
truth the spiritual mother of Ruth. 

Go, return each to her mother's house. Whether 
their fathers were still aiive, or whether their mo- 
ther's house is mentioned because their intercourse in 
the house of their parents would chiefly be with their 
mothers, we cannot tell. 

The Lord deal kindly with you. She blesses them 
when she sends them away, not in the name of Che- 
rnosh, but in the name of Jehovah the God of Israel, 
and thereby insinuates, at a time which they could 



34 the history [Lect. 2> 

never forget, and in words which were likely to be 
often present to their minds, that not the god^ofMo- 
ab, but the God of Israel, was the eternal fountain of 
blessings, from whom every good and perfect gift was 
to be expected. Our speech ought to be always sea- 
soned with salt, but there are particular seasons when 
our words ought to be ordered in consummate wis*- 
dom. The words of parting friends, who are likely 
never again to meet, make an impression never to be 
erased. Who knows what good may be done by such 
words, when they breathe at once the fervour of pi- 
ety and of charity ? They are like dying words, for 
our friends are then dead to us when we see them no 
more. 

The Lord deal kindly zvith you, as ye have dealt 
with the dead and with me. It seems these two wo- 
men had been good wives to their husbands, .although, 
their husbands were poor men and strangers. If they 
had assumed more power over their husbands than 
they ought, they would probably have been support- 
ed by their relations and countrymen. But they al- 
ways dealt kindly with them, and endeavoured to 
render their condition in a land of strangers comfort- 
able and pleasant, Nature itself, you see, teaches 
wives to deal kindly with their husbands, for Moa- 
bitesses were taught by it to deal kindly with those 
that married them. Beware, ye who call yourselves 
Christians, of behaving worse than women that never 
heard the duties of wives enforced by such powerful 
motives. " Submit yourselves unto your husbands 
as unto the Lord ; for the husband is the head of the 
wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and 
he is the Saviour of the body* Therefore, as the- 



Ch. i. 6, — 10.] op ruth. 33 

church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to 
their own husbands in every thing." 

You know not, husbands and wives, how long you 
may dwell together. Death may soon come, and will 
doubtless, sooner or later,, come and tear away the 
one of you from the other. When that event shall 
take place, how will you wish to have behaved ? Be- 
have at present as you would then wish to have be- 
haved, for then you will not be able to bring back the 
present time. Many great miracles have been 
wrought by the power of God, but it never did, nor 
ever will, recal the time that is past. How comfort- 
able was it to Orpah and Ruth to hear Naomi say, 
Ye have dealt kindly with the dead ! And how com- 
fortable was the reflection to them through life, that 
she had reason to give them this commendation! 

As ye have dealt with the dead and with me. These 
amiable women extended their kindness from their 
husbands to their mother, the only friend of their hus- 
bands to whom they could shew kindness. It is com- 
monly supposed, that a widow 7 may hope to live 
amongst us more comfortably with a son-in-law, than 
with one of her own married sons. This observation 
often holds good, but not to our honour. Why should 
not daughters-in-law behave like daughters ? If hus- 
band and wife are one flesh, your husband's father is 
your father, your husband's mother is your mother. 
Why should Moabitesses behave better than many 
Christian wives, and merit commendations which can- 
not, without flattery, be given to those who have such 
superior advantages for knowing and for practising 
their duty ? I say not this to shame you. I know that 
there are some to whom no reproof of this kind is due* 



36 the HieTOitr [Lect. 2* 

But are there not others who behave less affection- 
ately to their own mothers than Orpah and Ruth to 
the mother of their husbands ? 

And with me. When I speak of the unkind beha- 
viour of some wives to the mothers of their husbands, 
let me give to every one her portion of reproof. The 
blame of unkindness does not always lie on one side* 
If there were more Naomis, there might be more Or- 
pahs and Ruths. Naomi was disposed to take in 
good part the conduct of her daughters-in-law, and 
to express a grateful sense of the attentions that were 
paid to her. Some old women look upon every in- 
stance of kindness from their daughters, or their 
daughters-in-law, as a debt for which they owe them 
no thanks. Others are so sullen, so suspicious, so fret- 
ful, that there is no possibility of pleasing them. They 
turn the duty of their children into an hard task, 
which they find it impossible to perform with satis- 
faction to themselves, because it gives so little satis- 
faction to those whom they wish to serve. True, your 
children are bound to honour you, but they are not 
bound to comply with all your humours. They are 
bound to be the comforters of your old age ; but. how 
can they comfort you, if you refuse to take comfort 
in all that they can do to please you ? They do no 
more than their duty when they endeavour to gild the 
evening of your days by their dutiful behaviour; but 
are you not bound to shew a grateful sense of their 
care to perform their duty? You see that Naomi 
thanked and blessed her daughters-in-law for the 
kindnesses which they had shewed to herself, as well 
as for their endeavours to contribute to the happiness 
of her sons. 



Ch. i. 6,— 10.] of ruth* 3? 

Ver. 9. — The Lord grant you thai you may find 
rest each of you in the house of her husband* Then 
she kissed them, and they lift up their voice and wept* 
Naomi did not wish her daughters-in-law to con- 
tinue through the remaining part of their lives unmar- 
ried. She was far from thinking that their entrance 
a second time into the bond of marriage, would be 
in any degree inconsistent with all due respect for 
the memory of their first husbands. If ever they 
should again enter into this state of life, as she hoped 
they would do, she wished them all that happiness 
which they might have expected to enjoy if the Lord 
had been pleased to spare the lives of her sons. 

There are seasons, in which unmarried persons and 
widows will act wisely if they continue as they are ; 
but there are other times, in which it is in general 
better for the younger widows, as well as unmarried 
women, to marry. We cannot, indeed, fix a rule 
which will include all without exception, because that 
may be good for one which is not good for another, 
whose dispositions or circumstances require a differ- 
ent conduct. There are some who err by marrying 
when they ought not, or whom they ought not to mar- 
ry ; and there are others who sin when they do not 
marry, as we learn from the different advices gi- 
ven on this subject by the apostle Paul, 1 Cor. viu 
1 Tim. v. 

But whenever men or women marry, if they are 
wise for themselves, they will take proper measures 
to find satisfaction in that new state of life; and one 
of the chief means to be used for this purpose is pray- 
er to God. The Lord grant you that each of you may 
find rest in the house of her husband* " A prudent 

D 



38 Tira history [Lect. 2. 

•wife is from the Lord," and a kind husband is from 
the Lord also ; and, if any thing, surely in this most 
important step of life, we are to ask counsel from the 
Biouth of the Lord, and to implore his blessing. Let 
it be however remembered, that, if you are sincere 
in seeking the blessing of God upon this relation, you 
will follow the directions of his word in making your 
choice. Have you not a husband or wife at present ? 
judge for yourselves whether you ought, or ought not 
to marry. " Marry whom you will, only in the Lord." 
Do you seek rest in the house of a husband, or com- 
fort with a wife ? remember what God says concern- 
ing the virtuous woman, Prov. xxxi. and what he says 
in many places of his word concerning the character 
of the men whose conduct he approves, and to whom 
he will give his blessing, Prov. iii. 

If it is to be wished that wives may find rest in the 
houses of their husbands, it must be the duty of hus- 
bands to do what they can to procure them rest, not 
only by endeavouring to provide for them what is 
necessary for their subsistence and comfortable ac- 
commodation, but by such a kind behaviour as will 
promote their satisfaction and comfort. Men and wo- 
men may have affluence without rest, and rest without 
affluence. But let women also contribute to procure 
rest for themselves by frugality, by industry, by such 
behaviour to their husbands as 'will merit constant re- 
turns of kindness. 

Then she kissed them, and they lift up their voice 
and wept. They wept because they were to part, ne- 
ver again to meet, all of them, together in this world. 
They had been happy in one another, and one of the 
sorest afflictions incident to this life, is the everlasting 



Ch. i. 6. — 10.] of ruth* 39 

separation of those who were mutually dear. But 
why do we say everlasting separation ? There is no 
everlasting separation of Christian friends. Little 
was known of what we know concerning the future 
state by these friends of whom we are speaking, and 
there was little ground of hope that they would all 
meet in that state, if they had known it. for it does 
not appear that Orpah was willing to take up her cross, 
and deny herself, to serve the God of Israel. We that 
are Christians have the happiness to know with cer- 
tainty, that our separation from our friends in Christ 
will not be eternal, though it may be long. Because 
it may be long, we mourn : because it is not to be 
eternal, we do not mourn as they that have no hope. 

They lift up their voice and wept, not only at the 
thought of their long separation, but at the recollec- 
tion which rushed into their minds at this time, of 
many endearing, of many sorrowful, of many joyful 
circumstances of their past lives. For such is the 
precarious and changeable nature of worldly felicity, 
that even the sweetest joys of life often make way for 
the most piercing griefs. Our remembrance of plea- 
sures enjoyed, and to be enjoyed no more, spreads a 
dismal gloom over those pleasures that we might yet 
enjoy. We cannot be made happy by a rich abun- 
dance of those things which give happiness (such as 
the world can give) to others, because we are bereav- 
ed of those things in which we placed too much of 
our happiness. 

This world is a place of mourning to all, but to 

: more than others, by the afflictive changes which 

darken many of their days. Let us all seek to be 

found in him whose office it is to comfort all that 



40 THE HISTORY [Lect. 2- 

mourn. Sorrow is turned into joy by him who is the 
Consolation of Israel. 

Ver. 10. — And they said unto her, Surely we will 
return with thee unto thy peoph. 

We have no reason to doubt the sincerity of both 
these women in this extraordinary profession of at- 
tachment to Naomi, although one of them was easily 
diverted from her purpose. There is a great differ- 
ence between the same mind at different times. Or* 
pah's intention of going with Naomi, included an in-- 
tendon of serving Naomi's God, and of relinquishing 
the gods of Moab ; for it is not likely that she thought 
she would be permitted to practise the worship of 
Chemosh in the land of Israel. We may therefore ob- 
serve from this place, that you ought not to mistake 
every purpose of being truly religious, as a sign of 
true grace. If you turn to God from sin, with full 
purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience, you 
are true penitents ; but this full purpose is attended 
with habitual performance. " Bring forth fruits meet 
for repentance, 45 - if you desire to be esteemed true 
children of Abraham. If, like Orpah,, you promise 
and intend to perform, but return to your former course 
of life, your " goodness is like the morning cloud, and 
like the early dew that goeth away. n 

Surely xoe zvill return with thee unto thy people*. 
They knew but very few of NaomPs people ; but 
from her own behaviour, and the behaviour of her 
family, they judged that they were people with whom 
it would be happy to live. Let us all endeavour so 
to live, as to give strangers to religion favourable ideas, 
of those who profess it. The lewd conduct of nomk. 
nal Christians has done unknown mischief \\\ the- 



Ch. i. 6, — 10.] or ruth. 4t 

world. If all Christians were attentive to the cause 
of Christ in their conversation, stumbling-blocks 
would be removed out of the way of the inconside- 
rate, and the mouths of malicious enemies would be 
stopped. " Many, seeing our good works, would 
glorify our Father who is in heaven/' " Whatso- 
ever things are true, and honest, and just, and pure, 
and lovely, and praise-worthy, think on these things," 
if you desire to enjoy peace in your own minds, or to 
be useful to others around you. 

May we see more and more of the accomplishment 
of the prayer of our Lord Jesus, that all his followers 
may " be one in the Father, and in the Son 5 that the 
world may know that he is sent bv the Father." 



r> 



4£ THB HISTORY [LeCt. 

LECTURE III. 



THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUES*. 

Chap. i. 11, — 15* 



Vkr. 1 1. — And Naomi said) Turn again, my daugFi* 
ters, why will ye go with me? Are there yet any more- 
sons in my womb that they may be your husbands ? 

TURN again my daughters. Naomi does not 
call them her daughters-in-law, but her daughters*. 
They deserved to be addressed by her in this affec- 
tionate language. They were as dutiful and affec- 
tionate to Naomi as if she had born them. 

Turn again, why will ye go with me ? We ought not^ 
without good reason, to leave the land of our nativity*. 
We are not bound to live all our days in one place or 
in one country, but we ought not to change our condi- 
tion or country without being able to give a good rea* 
son for it. There is no part of the world which the 
curse of God hath not reached \ and if we hope, by 
leaving our native land, to leave the miseries of life 
behind us, we will be miserably disappointed. Nao- 
mi had formerly too good reason for coming into the 
land of Moab, and she had now a very sufficient re&>- 



©h. i. II, — 15.] op rtjte. 43 

son for leaving it; hut it was highly proper that her 
daughters-in-law should consider, befoFe they accom- 
panied her to Bethlehem, whether their reasons were 
as good as her's. " As a bird that wandereth from 
its nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.' 9 
. Are there yet any sons in my womb, that they should 
be your husbands ? Before the law was given by Mo- 
ses, it appears to have been customary in some parts 
of the East, that the wife of a man who died child- 
less should become the wife of his brother j and there- 
fore Judah doomed his daughter-in-law to the fire as 
an adultress, when he heard that she had committed 
whoredom in the house of her father, where she was 
ordered to continue till Shelah, the son of Judah, was 
marriageable. But Orpah and Ruth could have no 
prospect of second marriages in the family of Naomi. 
She was now childless, and could have no prospect 
of other children to supply the place of those she had 
lost. 

Ver. 1 2. — Turn again, my daughters ; goyourzvafo 
for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, 
I have hope ; if I should have an husband also to-night, 
and should also bear sons. 

Turn again my daughters ; go your way, for I am 
too old to have an husband •, or, if I should have an 
husband, I cannot expect to have any more sons ; or, 
if I should have both an husband and sons, they would 
be too long in growing up to maturity for becoming 
your husbands. Naomi would have preferred these 
two young widows to all other women as wives for 
her sons, if any sons had been left to her. But all 
her sons were gone to the land of forgetfulness, and 
she was not foolish enough to think either of a hus* 



44 the history [Lect. 3r 

band or sons at her time of life. She did not indulge 
romantic hopes, as too many do, of what would never 
happen. There are some who, in a bad sense, hope 
against hope ; but their hopes, built upon a founda- 
tion of sand, deceive them, and end in deserved mise- 
ry. Naomi did not allow herself to form such vision- 
ary expectations as would end only in disappoint- 
ment. The hand of the Lord had gone out against 
her, and robbed her of her best friends, and she would 
not, like the foolish Edomites, say, H The bricks are 
fallen down, but we will build with hewn stone ; the 
sycamores are fallen down, but we will build with ce- 
dar." It would add greatly to our happiness, if we 
could believe and improve that fundamental principle* 
of our religion, " If God make p^ace, w T ho can make 
trouble ? but if he hideth his face, who can behold 
him, whether it be done against a nation, or against 
a man only ?" 

/ am too old to have an husband* She would not so 
much as think of another husband in her advanced 
period of life. The apostle Paul seems to take it for 
granted, that a woman would scarcely be found at 
sixty years of age, or upwards, who would think of 
marriage ; and therefore, in giving directions about 
those female servants of the church who could not 
conveniently perform the duties required of them if 
they were married, he says, " Let no widow be taken 
into the number under sixty years of age." Why ? 
Because the younger widows, if they were taken in- 
to the number, might marry. 

I am too old to have an husband ; but if I should 
have an husband, can I hope to have children ? Sarah 
bore a child when she was ninety years of age. But 



Ch. i. 11, — 15.] or r^th. 45 

it would be presumptuous to expect miracles in the 
ordinary course of providence. 

Some people cannot think without envy of happi- 
ness enjoyed by others which themselves cannot hope 
to enjoy, as if the pleasures of others were their pu- 
nishment. But Naomi wished to each of her daugh- 
ters-in-law rest in the house of an husband, although 
she herself was to continue a desolate and poor wi- 
dow. And she hoped it would not be a long time till 
she heard that both of them were happy in another 
change of life. I fear few of us are possessed of the 
generous charity of the apostle Paul, who could 
say, " We are glad when we are weak, and ye are 
strong."' 

If I should say that I have hope ; if I should have 
an husband also to-night, and should bear sons* 

Ver. 13. — Would ye tarry for them till they were 
grown ? Would ye stay for them from having hus- 
bands ? Kay, my daughters ; for it grieveik me sore 
for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out 
against me* 

Extremes in every thing are to be avoided* Some, 
too precipitately, rush into the married state* They 
do not duly deliberate about this important step of 
life. They do not consult with those friends who 
have a right to give their mind, and they do not take 
time to consult with God, from whom every good gift 
cometh. But others are too dilatory about entering 
into the married state. The bad effects of undue de- 
lay of marriage have often appeared in the licentious 
conduct of the young. It was the desire of Naomi, 
not only that her daughters-in-law might find rest, 
each of them ia the house of an husband, but that they 



4$ THE HISTORY [Lect. 3. 

might find it while the years of their youth yet con- 
tinued with them. Suppose the possibility that she 
might yet have children, would ye tarry for them till 
they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having 
husbands ? 

Nay, my daughters $ for it grieveth me sore for your 
sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone forth against me* 
She was grieved for her own sake that the hand of 
the Lord was gone out against her, and yet she would 
have borne it much more easily if she herself had been 
the only sufferer. That she was a widow, and child- 
less, appeared hard to her ; but it distressed her no 
less to think that her amiable daughters-in-law were 
become widows in the days of their youth, especial- 
ly when she thought, as she was disposed to do, that 
their affliction was the effect of a quarrel that God had 
with herself. 

This is a great aggravation of the afflictions of ma- 
ny parents, that their children are involved with them- 
selves. They could bear poverty, they could bear 
reproach, they could bear death itself, had they none 
who depended on them for bread and for respectabi- 
lity in the world. But it appears hard to them, that 
their innocent babes, or their affectionate children in 
a more advanced period of life, should suffer along 
with them. Under this covert, we are too apt to hide 
from ourselves cur impatience under the dispensa- 
tions of divine providence. God has the same right 
to rule over the fruit of our bodies as over ourselves, 
and to allot to them their share of the good or the 
bad things of this world. 

It is bitterest of all, when we have reason to think 
that our sins have provoked God to punish us in t&« 



Ch. i. 11. — 15.] or ruth, 47 

persons of our friends, or to inflict those strokes which 
our friends must feel as heavily as ourselves. Let us 
beware of ever exposing ourselves to such heart-pier- 
cing reflections by conduct that may bring down God's 
displeasure upon our families. Let us humble our- 
selves under the mighty hand of God, and commit to 
his disposal our families as well as ourselves. David 
procured the death of his little child, and threatening* 
of heavy judgments upon others of his family, by his 
sin. But let us remember what method David took 
to recover his peace of mind, and, if we are in like 
circumstances, follow his example, 2 Sam. xii. Psal. li. 
God's people may sometimes, without good reason, 
thiitk that the hand of the Lord is gone forth against 
them, in the calamities which befal their families or 
friends. David had good grounds for humbling him- 
self under the hand of God gone forth against himself 
in the disasters that befel his family ; but Job had no 
reason to think that his children were taken away by 
God either for their own or their fathers transgres- 
sion. Satan moved the Lord against that good man 
to destroy him without cause. Our afflictions are hard 
enough to be borne by us, without the addition of 
groundless reflections against ourselves. At the same 
lime, the error is much more common of insensibility 
to the' divine displeasure, when it has been really 
kindled by our sins, than of vexing ourselves with 
unjust suspicions of God's anger. But it will be our 
wisdom to guard against mistakes fatal to our peace 
of mind, as well as those which indicate an unhum- 
bled spirit. Nothing is more unlike a saint than stu- 
pidity under divine corrections, wmether they come 
upon us in our own persons, or in the persons of our 



48 THE HISTORY [LeCt. 3» 

friends ; "but few things are more unfavourable to 
the progress of holiness than groundless jealousies 
entertained and cherished concerning the dealings 
of divine providence in the management of our con- 
cerns. 

There is one thing that still remains to be consi- 
dered concerning this parting speech of Naomi to her 
daughters-in-law. Why did she dissuade them from 
going with her to the land of Judah, where the true 
God was well known, and persuade them to return to 
a country of abominable idolaters, where they would 
be carried down the stream of general practice into 
the abyss of perdition ? " Because of such things" as 
are commonly practised by the heathen, " the wrath 
of God cometh on the children of disobedience.' 5 
Ought not Naomi then to have rather endeavoured to 
pluck her beloved daughters as brands out of the burn- 
ing, by alluring them into a land where the method of 
salvation was known, and where the means of grace 
w r ere enjoyed ? 

We are not bound to justify all that. Naomi spake or 
did, and we ought not rashly to condemn her, because 
we know only a few of the things that she spake to 
her daughters-in-law. But, in charity to that good 
woman, we ought to believe, that, for years past, she 
had been endeavouring, by her practice and her con- 
verse, to recommend to her young friends the worship 
of the God of Israel. If they were truly turned from 
the error of their ways, nothing that is here said was 
likely to drive them back to their own country. But 
if they were not, why should they go forward with 
her into her country, where she could not support 
them, and where it was possible that, from the beha- 



Ch. i. 11, — 15.] e? ruth. 49 

viour of Naomi's countrymen to^uch destitute stran- 
gcrs, they would rather contract prejudices unfavour- 
able to their religion, than cordially join in their wor- 
ship ? They might have been disgusted even with 
.Naomi's own conduct, if she had not fairly told them 
what inconveniences they were to encounter in going 
to her land, and to her people* We ought, by all 
prudent methods, to gain proselytes to a religion 
which we know to be divine : but we are to catch 
none by guile. When Paul says, " Being crafty, 1 
caught you with guile," he spake not in his own per- 
son, but in the person of an objector to the account 
he was giving of his own conduct. Far from allow- 
ing that he caught them with guile, he proves the ve- 
ry reverse to have been the case ; for he renounced 
;; the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craf- 
tiness, not handling the word of God deceitfully*" 

Our Lord very plainly told his followers what they 
were to expect in his service. To a man who expres- 
sed his intention of following him, he said, " The 
foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, 
but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." 
We may however observe, that Christ usually ad- 
ministered proper antidotes against the fears which 
the doctrine of the cross might excite in the minds of 
his hearers. When he told them that they must deny 
themselves, and take up their cross and follow him, 
he told them likewise, that those who lost their lives 
for his sake should find them. It may be doubted 
whether Naomi, in the dejection of her spirits, did not: 
overlook the powerful consolations which might have 
encouraged her young friends to follow her into the 
land of Israel, and would have more than compensa- 

£ 



511 THE HISTORY {Lect. 3. 

ted all the inconveniences to which they would have 
been exposed in a strange land. She honestly told 
them that they could not reasonably expect outward 
prosperity if they should accompany her. But might 
she not have reminded them of those spiritual ad- 
vantages, which made the condition of the poorest 
Israelites unspeakably more advantageous than the 
happiest state of those heathens who knew not God ? 
Doubtless she had often spoken of those privileges 
to them in former times ; but as yet they had not 
learned their nature, and perhaps Naomi now des- 
paired of ever being able to give them a perfect idea 
of it. 

Ver. 14. — And they lift up their voice and wept 
again ; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, bat Ruth 
clave unto her. 

Again they lift up their voices and weep when 
Naomi had represented her own destitute condition, 
and the little encouragement she could give them to 
go with her to her native land. They were all pierced 
with a deep concern for the afflictions which she had 
suffered, without any prospect of seeing them redres- 
sed in the manner they could have wished. But there 
is always a mixture of pleasure with the tears which 
flow from compassion and charity. Those men are 
not to be envied, but pitied, who feel not for the woes 
of their friends, 

Naomi had already kissed both her daughters-in- 
law. Orpah now kisses Naomi and leaves her. We 
can scarcely avoid thinking, when we read this his- 
tory, of the young man whom our Lord loved, al- 
though he would not follow him* The young man 



Ch. I. 11, 15.] OF RUTH* v 3£ 

was amiable for his natural dispositions, and for his 
discreet behaviour; but, alas! he could not think of 
parting with all that he had for Christ. Orpah, in 
like manner, would have gladly accompanied Naomi 
to her people, could she have enjoyed with her those 
accommodations that appeared to her necessary for 
her earthly felicity. She kissed Naomi because she 
dearly loved her, but she did not love the God of 
Naomi so as to forget her father's house, and her own 
people, to serve him. Think not that an amiable 
natural temper, or an affectionate behaviour to your 
parents and friends, are either sufficient indications of 
true religion, or compensate for the want of it. The 
young man whom Jesus loved went away sorrowful 
from Jesus, but his sorrow at leaving him did by no 
means atone for the deaf ear which he turned to his 
religious instructions. Nature, in its highest endow- 
ments and improvements, is infinitely below grace. 
There are some believers in Christ, whose natural 
tempers are never refined to such a degree as we 
might expect from their religious principles ; yet they 
shall dwell forever in the region of love. There are 
other men, whose natural tempers are affectionate and 
humane. Perhaps they are improved by all the ad- 
vantages of a polite and learned education. Thus 
they acquire an uncommon degree of respectability in 
the world, and yet continue destitute of faith in Christ 
and love to God. With all their attainments, they 
are still in a miserable condition. The love and es- 
teem of men will not secure them from the wrath of 
that God whose service they neglect, and whose Son, 
the only Saviour, they despise. 

Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unit 



S3 THE histoid [Leek 3» 

her. And Ruth's attachment to her was worth tea 
thousand of Orpah's kisses. The young noblemaR 
in the gospel treated our Lord with high respect ; but 
all this availed him nothing, for he would not sell his 
possessions at Christ's command, and become a fol- 
lower of Jesus*.. Happy were the apostles who con- 
tinued with him in all his temptations. They left all 
and followed him. What they left was little, but that 
love which disposed them to leave all was highly va- 
lued by him, and they received an hundred fold of 
recompense even in this world. 

Ver. 15.— And she said. Behold thy sister-in-law is> 
gone back unto her people and imto her gods. Return 
thou after thy sister-in-law. 

It was doubtless Naomi's grief, that a young wo- 
man whom she loved, and who loved her so dearly^ 
went back, not only to her people, but to her gods. 
Naomi, it is probable, knew her too well to be mista-* 
ken in the suspicion she had formed of her conduct. 
If her husband, when he married her, had no better 
reason than Naomi now had to judge favourably of 
her religious sentiments, he was greatly to be blamed, 
for taking her into his bosom. But love may easily 
deceive a man who is clear-sighted in ordinary mat- 
ters. Jacob, in all probability, did not find it so easy 
a matter as he expected, to reclaim Rachel from the 
worship of her father's images. 

She is returned to her people and to her god$± 
Naomi doubted not that she was returning to her gods, 
although she said nothing of them when she left her 
mother-in-law. Perhaps she was not even thinking 
of her gods ; but her return to her- people was, in ef- 
fect, a return to her gods* If she had intended to- have 



Ch. i. 11, 15.] ©F RUTH* ho 

nothing more to do with her idols, she would have fled 
from the temptations to idolatry, which surrounded her 
on every side in the land of her nativity, and amongst 
her kindred. 

There are too many, even of the professors of the 
true religion, who have no other reason for professing 
it, but the public profession of it amongst the people 
to whom they belong. Were they inhabitants of 
Greece they would profess either the Turkish or the 
Greek religion, for the same reason that induces them 
to be Protestants in Great Britain. Beware of think- 
ing that the best religion in the world will save you, 
if you do not receive the truth in the love of it, and in 
the love of it not chiefly for your fathers' and breth- 
rens' sake, but for its own sake, and for the sake of 
its glorious Author, 

Return thou after ihj sister-in-lazc. Example has 
a mighty influence, the example especially of dear 
friends with whom we have long lived in habits of in- 
timacv. If Oruah had gone with Naomi, Ruth and 
Orpah would have kept one another in countenance. 
As matters stood, Ruth was iikely to be esteemed, by 
all her former friends, the greatest fool in the world. 
Did not Orpah leave her mother-in-law, although she 
loved her with as warm affections as any mother-in- 
law could expect ? But she was not so unwise as to 
leave all her other friends for a single friend connec- 
ted with her by a relation which was now extinguished. 
Ruth loved her molher-iii-law with an unreasonable 
and romantic fondness. "When Orpah, in her sight r 
had the good sense to leave her, and to return to mucli 
nearer friends, Ruth still kept her foolish resolution 
to go to a country which she knew not with an old 

E 2 



£4 THE HISTORY [LcCt. 3* 

woman, who, instead of being able to support her, must 
depend on the labour of this poor young woman. 
Such might be the reflections of those who knew not 
the springs of Ruth's conduct. But Ruth had sense 
enough to know, that neither the example nor the 
opinion of other people, ought to be the rule of hes 
own conduct. " It is a small thing for us to be judged 
of man ; but he who judgeth us is the Lord." 

Here again it may be asked, Did not Naomi cast 
stumbling-blocks, as well as Orpah, in the way of 
Ruth? Was it not a sufficient temptation for this 
young woman to see Orpah returning to her gods ? 
Why does Naomi enforce the temptation, by exci- 
ting her to follow the example ? Does not Solomon, 
give a much better advice, when with great earnest- 
ness he exhorts us to " keep out of the path of evil 
doers," Prov. iv. 14, 15.? 

Naomi did not certainly wish that Ruth should 
return to her gods ;■ and if she did not wish that she 
should return to her gods, she could not wish that she 
should lay herself open to temptations, such, as those 
to which Orpah was now exposing herself. Ruth, 
therefore, who knew Naomi's zeal for the Lord God 
of Israel, would not understand her words as an ad- 
vice to follow Orpah's example, but rather as a trial 
of her sincerity, and a modest reference of the impoi> 
tant point to her own choice, whether she would go 
with Orpah to her friends and her gods, or come with 
Naomi to the land of Israel, and worship the God of 
Abraham and of Lot., We ought to be zealous fos 
the Lord God of Israel, and to do what we can to 
turn sinners from the error of their ways ; but we can- 
not compel the inclination or the judgment of our 



€h. i. 11, — 15. J OF RUTH. 5& 

friends. Christ himself did not seek any followers 
that would not willingly comply with his injunctions. 
" If any man is willing to come after me, let him de- 
ny himself." He, who works in men to will and to 
do, will accept of no- man's doings where the will is 
not engaged, Matt. xvi. 24. Gr. 

When Jesus says to a man who would have follow- 
ed him, " The foxes have holes, and the birds of the 
air have nests, bat the Son of man hath not where to 
lay his head," he did not intend to dissuade any man 
from following him, but to let men know that they 
ought, before they profess themselves his followers, 
to consider what they may expect in his service, and 
.whether they are prepared to bear the cross without 
repining, when God calls them to endure it. 

When he says to Judas, " What thou dost, do 
quickly," he by no means authorised Judas to exe- 
cute his wicked design of betraying his Master, but 
rather to awaken his conscience to a sense of the 
danger and baseness of his intentions, by placing the 
intended crime before his view, and fixing his mind 
tipon it as a crime presently to be committed ; for 
those evils which are considered as present may strike 
horror, although they were far from appearing dread- 
ful at a distance* So Naomi, in the w r ords before us, 
rather w r arns Ruth of the danger ©f returning, than 
exhorts her to return : Return thou to thy people, and 
io thy gods. After what Ruth had learned of the God 
of Israel, she could not bear the thought of returning: 
to the gods of Moab ; and, therefore, she would ra- 
ther expose herself to every possible inconveniency 
and hardship in the land of Israel, than return to her 
own people* Let blinded idolaters walk in the name 



$8 THE HISTORY [LeCt. 3* 

of their gods ; we will walk in the name of our God 
for ever and ever. Never will we be so mad, if we 
have any true knowledge of the glory of God, as to 
leave the Fountain of living waters, to make to our- 
selves cisterns, which will prove but broken cisterns 
that can hold no water. The folly of apostasy will 
not damp, but invigorate our zeal, for why should we 
follow the example of those who " begin in the spirit 
and end in the flesh ?" 



€h. i. 16,-18.] op rutHo Si 

LECTURE I\\ 



*UTH*S STEADINESS TO HER RELIGIOUS PROFESSION 

Chap* i. 16, — 18. 



Ver* IS. — And Ruth said. Entreat me not to leave 
thee, or to return from following after thee ; for whith- 
er thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will 
lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my 
God, 

RUTH clave unto Naomi, when Orpah kissed 
and left her. How firmly she clave to Naomi, we learn 
from her own w r ords : — 

" Do not intreat me (or do not press me) to leave 
thee, or to turn aside from following thee." Dearly 
as Ruth loved her mother-in-law, and pleasant as her 
words had usually been in her ears, she was greatly 
distressed with what Naomi had now said. She could 
not really intend to persuade her beloved daughter- 
in-law to return to the service of Chemosh ; but Ruth 
could not bear the slightest appearance of temptation, 
1 especially from the lips of one who was so dear to her,, 
nor could she easily bear the appearance of any sus- 
picion concerning her steadiness in the faith and wor- 
p of the God of Israel,. 



-It THE HISTORY [LeCt. #* 

Ruth assures Naomi, that it would serve no purpose 
to remind her of the inconveniences which she might 
expect to encounter. She had already formed her re- 
solution, and it was so firm, that no considerations 
could induce her to alter it. Why then should any more 
be said on the subject ? It might make her very un* 
easy, but her purpose could not be altered. 

Whither thou goest I will go , and where thou loagest 
I will lodge. Should Naomi go to the end of the world, 
she would go with her. How much more when Naomi 
was going to the land of Israel, where the God whom 
she had chosen for her God was known and served. 
The land of Israel was likely to afford but poor accom- 
modation for Naomi, and but poor prospects for a Mo- 
abitish stranger who attended her ; but it was the coun- 
try of her beloved friend, it was the Lord's land, it w T as 
a land where she would be freed from those mighty 
temptations to idolatry which were so formidable ta 
her in her own land, and where she would enjoy re- 
ligious privileges, no where else to be enjoyed in the 
world. 

Where thou lodgest I will lodge. The company of 
Naomi in a cottage would be more pleasant to her 
than that of any of the Moabitish ladies in a palace; 
" Better is a dinner of herbs where peace is, than a 
stalled ox and hatred therewith." Better is the com- 
pany of a poor saint in a prison, than the society of 
the rich and great in their splendid dwellings, if they 
take no delight in God, and in the remembrance of his 
name. 

Thy people shall be my people. At this time Naomi's 
people must have been a very poor people after so ma- 
ny years of famine 5 but they were Naomi's people, and 



Ch. i. 16,-18.] of rtjth. b9 

they were the people of the Lord of hosts. If we desire 
to serve God, his people must be our people. If we love 
Christ, we must cultivate fellowship with those whom 
he acknowledges as his faithful followers. If his name 
be clear to us, we will entertain a high value for those 
on whom this worthy name is called. If we acknow- 
ledge him a.s our Lord and Saviour, we must associate 
ourselves with his loyal subjects, the objects of his 
love and care, the partakers with us of his salvation. 
And thy God my God. We are not to infer from 
these words, that Ruth chose the God of Israel for her 
God, merely or chiefly because he was Naomi's God. 
She had not so learned the God of Israel from her pious 
instructress. If she had chosen her God merely from 
respect to her earthly friends, why did she leave the 
god of her father and mother ? Boaz was better inform- 
ed concerning the moving springs of Ruth's conduct, 
than we can pretend to be, and he attributed her vol- 
untary exile from her own country to a principle of 
true piety. u A full recompense," he says, " be given 
thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou 
art come to trust." 

i; Thy God shall 6e," or " thy God is my God." 
She knew that there was no God in all the earth like 
the God of Israel, the only living and true God. She 
was instructed by Naomi, and she had probably been 
instructed likewise by her husband Chilion, that their 
God did not exclude the poor Gentiles from his cov- 
enant. They were indeed well qualified to teach her 
this necessary and important truth, because Rachel, 
the Canaanitess, that illustrious proselyte to their re- 
ligion, was married into their own family. If Rahab 
-was received by God into the number of his people. 



60 the history [Lect. 4« 

why may not Ruth also, the Moabitess, claim and ex- 
pect a share in the blessings of his covenant ? She ap- 
pears not to have called in question her right to trust 
in him as her God, and she devotes herself to him as 
one of his people, and thereby sets us a good exam- 
ple of faith and obedience. The Lord requires us, 
in the first commandment of his holy law, to know and 
acknowledge him as the only true God and our God. 
If Ruth, a Moabitess, one of that nation who were to 
be excluded for ten generations from the congregation 
of the Lord, is not afraid to subscribe with her hand 
unto the Lord, and to call him her God, why should 
ive, from a pretended humility, call in question, our 
right to say unto the Lord, u Thou art our God ?" Or. 
why should we prefer any other portion, or any other 
Lord to him ? Ought we not to say, as Jeremiah teach- 
es us, " Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the 
hills, and from the multitude of mountains. Truly in 
the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. Behold, 
we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God !" 
Or, as we are taught by Israel, " O Lord our God, 
other lords besides Thee have had the dominion over 
us ; but henceforth by Thee only will we make men- 
tion of thy name !" Isaiah xxvi. 13. 

Ver. 17. — Where thou diest zvill I die, and there 
will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more al- 
so, if ought but death part thee and me. 

Ruth was still but a young woman, and yet she 
thought of the day of her death ; and the thoughts of 
that day perhaps contributed to fix her resolution of 
cleaving to Naomi. It is best to live with those whose 
death we wish to die. 

Ruth supposed it likely that Naomi would die be- 



Ch. i. !«,— 18.3 oyRUTH, 61 

fore her. This consideration was unpleasant to one 
who was forsaking all other friends to go with her. 
If she had lost one or several friends in the land of 
Moab, other friends would have been left ; but if she 
went with Naomi to the land of Israel, she knew of 
no other friends. The death of Naomi, who was as 
mortal as her husband and her sons, might soon leave 
Ruth a friendless stranger. She is willing however to 
take the risk. If Nabmi should die, ehe had no inten- 
tion of returning to the country from whence she set 
out. When Naomi's friends died in the land of Mo- 
ab, she returned to the land of Israel ; but when Na- 
omi dies, Ruth will not return to the land of Moab. 
The land of Israel is henceforth to be her country. 
She will not return to those friends that will exert all 
their influence to bring her back to her ancient gods. 
She will continue till she dies in the land of Israel, 
however friendless and unprotected, and will have 
her grave in the same place with Naomi, with whom 
she hopes to live in a better world. 

God do so to me, and more also, if ought but death 
part thee and me. What might happen before death 
she could not say. Her prospects were but dark, 
and yet she is fully determined to abide with Naomi. 
Neither poverty, nor the contempt usually thrown up- 
on strangers, nor any of the wrongs to which an un- 
protected woman in a strange land might be exposed, 
would induce her to separate from such a beloved 
friend, or to leave the country where the only true 
God was served. 

God do so to me, and more also. i God inflict upon 
tne punishments too awful to be named, and punish- 
ments still more dreadful than any that thou canst 

F 



6§ THE-- HI-STORY [LeC't. 4„ 

suppose, if ought but death part betwixt thee and me. ! 
Ruth solemnly swears that she will still cleave to Na- 
omi, and to the God whom Naomi served, Thus 
David bound his soul by an oath to keep all God's 
righteous judgments. Thus we all ought to lay our- 
selves under the most sacred engagements to cleave 
to the Lord as our God, and to' walk in his ways* 
Can we be too firmly engaged to (he service of Him, 
whom to serve is liberty and happiness ? 

When we consider how firmly Ruth had resolved 
to cleave to Naomi, and to the God of Israel, ought 
we not to consider, whether we, who enjoy so vastly 
superior advantages to Ruth, are determined with 
,equal firmness to continue in the faith, in the profes- 
sion and in the practice of our religion ? Ruth was 
instructed only by one, or a very few private Israel- 
ites, in the knowledge of religion. She never had 
enjoyed an opportunity of attending upon any of the 
public ministrations of the priests or Levites, If she 
had ever seen the Bible, and learned to read it, that 
Bible consisted only of seven at most of the many 
books of Scripture which are putinto our hands ; yet 
she sacrifices all the pleasures., all the friendships of 
her youth, all the hopes of better days in her own 
country, to that holy religion which she professed., 
What may be expected of us who have so long en- 
joyed the benefit of the church-administrations which 
Christ, hath appointed for the conversion of sinners, 

d tne establishment of saints, and who, from chil- 
dren, have been accustomed to- read the Scriptures? 
YV r e are under no necessity. of leaving our native coun- 
try and our friends, to enjoy the institutions of the 
gospel, or the fullest liberty of worshipping God iu a 



Ch. i. 26 : — 1 8.1 of ruth. ' 63 

manner agreeable to his own direction. If we are 
unsettled in our religious principles and practice,, we 
cannot make the excuses that many might have made, 
vertheless were far from taking advantage of 
them, io excuse a conduct that would admit of no ex- 
cuse ; for what excuse can be made for postponing 
care of our souls to any thing in this world ? If 
ten thousand deaths, or if circumstances of misery 
worse than any kind of death, were to be suffered by 
us for cur religion, would it consist with true wisdom 
to purchase an exemption from such temporary suf- 
ferings at the price of everlasting etion frcm 
the presenc rd? Yet still more inexcusable 
are we, if, without the temptations of any extraordi- 
nary inconveniences in this world, we prove unfaith- 
ful to our religious profession. 

That we may cleave with purpose of heart to the 
Lord, it ds necessary that our hearts be renewed by 
the grace of God ; for never will we be true followers 
of them who left all and followed Christ, unless we 
are delivered from the remaining power of that at- 
tachment to the things of the present world, which 
renders so many professors of religion unstable in all 
their way?* If God put his fear into our hearts, we 
will not depart from him, Jei% xxxii. 40. If we are 
left to the natural impulse of our own hearts, however 
amiable our natural dispositions may be, we will fol- 
low the example, not of Ruth, but of Orpah, who kis- 
sed and left Naomi, Heb. xiii. 9. 

Perhaps some may allege that Ruth, with all her 
firmness to her religious principles, forgot a part of 
that duty which the light of nature taught her. Why 
did she not shew some attachment to her own mother, 



€4 the history [Lect. 4* 

as well as to her mother-in-law ? Why did she leave 
her parents with an intention never to return, that 
she might go to a land! which she knew not? The an- 
swer is easy. She saw that she could not return to 
her mother without exposing herself to very danger- 
ous temptations* She could not, perhaps, have lived 
in her mother's house, without seeing daily homage 
paid to false gods^and meeting with daily solicitations, 
and more than solicitations, to join in the practice of 
abominable idolatries. She might soon have beer* 
given in marriage to a worshipper of Chemosh ; and 
it miiy easily be judged how little such a convert as 
Ruth was prepared to encounter the temptations to 
which she might have been exposed in the house ei- 
ther of a mother or a husband. She therefore forgot 
her mother's house and" her own people. With a dis- 
interested spirit, she embraced and held fast that re-, 
Jigion which she had been taught, not only by her 
mother-in-law, but by the Spirit of God, Unless she 
had been drawn by that divine power, which alone 
can change the hearts of men, she would not have 
coine to the Lord's land, and to God himself as her 
exceeding jovo We are not called, in the literal sense, 
of the words, to " forsake our father's house and our 
own people ;" yet, in the spiritual sense it is absolute-* 
iy necessary. We must be ready to part with every 
thing for Christ, if we desire to be Christ's disciples j 
for if any man come to him,, " and hate not father,, 
and mother, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his 
own life also, he cannot be one of his disciples." 

Whilst we consider the stedfastness of Ruth's re^ 
Jigious principles, \ye cannot refrain from admiring 
likewise her fervent love to Naomi, cmd coAtcmpfeting 



Ch. i. 16,-18.] ©? rvth. 65 

the happiness which both of them enjoyed in their 
mutual friendship. If earthly felicity seems a proper 
subject of envy, who would not envy this happy pair 
of friends, rather than Haman in all his grandeur, or 
Solomon in all his glory-? And yet who were ever 
poorer than Naomi and Ruth ? 

Live in love and peace with all men if you can, es- 
pecially with all Christians, and with none more than 
with those of your own house. But if you desire to 
enjoy the sweets of such domestic friendship, imitate 
the piety, the modesty, the gentleness, the patience, 
the meekness of these good women. Be careful es- 
pecially of your tempers in the time of affliction. 
There are some who seem at times to overflow with 
good-will and kindness to their friends, but at other 
times, especially times of affliction, they are such sons 
or daughters of Belial, that it is almost impossible to 
live in friendship with them. Such was not Naomi. 
She was always disposed to take the heaviest share 
of her family afflictions, and to make them as light to 
her friends as possible. When her heart was wrung 
by sorrowful reflections, she spake kindly to them, 
and shewed a warm regard to their interest. The 
law of kindness was ever on her tongue ; and the 
complaints that were extorted from her were not of 
that sullen kind which provoke indignation, but ex- 
pressive of that resignation, and that tenderness of 
heart, which excite compassion mingled with esteem* 

Ver. 18. — When she saw that she was stedfastly 
minded to go with her. then she left speaking with her. 

The words of Ruth evidently proceeded from her 
heart, and produced full conviction in the mind of 
Naomi, that her beloved daughter-in-law would trou« 
F2 



&> ^tfx history [Lect. 4, 

ble her with no sullen reflections on her change of 
condition, whatever new hardships might befal her in 
the land of Israel. Naomi, therefore, was fuily satis- 
fied, and added not a word more on the subject. She 
$aw that it would give pain, and do no good ; and 
why should any man speak a word that gives pain to 
his neighbour, unless that pain has some advantage 
attending it, or likely to attend it ? Words should be 
like food or medicine. Words of reproof or alarm 
may sometimes be no less useful than those drugs 
which are unpalatable but salutary. But should a 
wise man use any kind of language, especially disa- 
greeable language, that can do no good ? 

When Ruth had given Naomi as good proof as she 
could give her of her settled determination to cleave 
to the God of Israel, Naomi is fully satisfied, and 
gives her no farther trouble. Thus ought we to rest 
satisfied with those credible professions of faith in 
Christ, and stedfast adherence to his truths and ways^ 
which are required from those who are admitted to 
the communion of the church. Such professions are 
necessary to establish that confidence which church* 
members ought to have in one another; and when 
they are made, we are deficient in that charity " which 
believeth all things," if we give place to groundless 
surmises concerning their sincerity. They may in 
the end prove insincere, for aught we can tell ; but 
to form suspicions of them till good ground is given 
for them, discovers, not a godly jealousy over our 
brethren, but a proud censorious spirit which the laws 
of Christ condemn. 

By her noble profession of stedfast adherence to 
-the religion of Naomi, Ruth gained this advantage, 



Cti. i. 16, 18,] OF RUTH. 87 

that nothing more was said to her about returning to 
the gods of Moab. If we desire peace and quietness 
in the ways of God, let us openly avow our purpose 
of heart to cleave to the Lord, and make it evident in 
the course of our profession and practice, that we are 
sincere, and resolved to be stedfast. When the friends 
of Christ see evident signs of our attachment to the 
good cause in which we are engaged, they will treat 
us with confidence, and be ready to strengthen our 
hands by the various offices of Christian communion* 
When his enemies see our Father's name written on 
our foreheads, they will desist from those solicitations 
to turn from our profession which they see to be 
fruitless. i; If it be possible, as much as lieth in us, 
let us live peaceably with all men ;" but let us not 
seek peace with the ungodly, by dissembling our at- 
tachment to those truths which they disbelieve, or 
those duties which they despise. If they will not 
live peaceably with us, unless we become their ser- 
vants, and forfeit the character of faithful servants to 
Christ, their enmity will be better than a friendship 
bought at an expense so unwarrantable. But, for 
the most part, wicked men themselves despise an un- 
stable Christian, and cannot divest themselves of an 
inward reverence for the man whose professions and 
practice are uniform and self-consistent. 



$$ THE HISTORY [LeCt. B. 

LECTURE V. 



RUTH'S ARRIVAL WITH NAOMI AT BETHLEHEM* 

Chap. i. 19,-22. 



Ver. 1 9. — So they two went, until they came to Beth-* 
lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come t® 
Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and 
they said, Is this Naomi ?' 

THERE is a great difference between the making, 
and the accomplishing of a good resolution. There 
are some who resolve well, but they defer the accom- 
plishment of what they have resolved till a more con- 
venient season, which never comes ; or they begin well, 
but they stop short in their course. Ruth not only re- 
solved to go to the land of Israel with Naomi, and 
there to continue for life, but goes along with her till 
she comes to Bethlehem, and there dwells without ever 
wishing to return. She did not so much as ask leave 
from Naomi, before they left the country of Moab, to 
go back to bid farewell to her father and mother. — 
Doubtless a woman so pious and affectionate as Ruth, 
must have loved and honoured her parents, and have 
thought with regret of leaving them for ever \ but had 



Ch. i. 19, — 22.] or r^th. 69 

she returned to take leave of them, they might have 
persuaded or forced her to continue at home, and to 
continue at home appeared to her too hazardous to her 
soul. She therefore went along with Naomi, travel- 
ling no doubt on foot, and meeting with but indifferent 
accommodation on the road. At last, however, thejr 
come to the ancient habitation of Naomi in safety ; 
for the Lord, by his good providence, guarded them 
amidst the dangers of their journey, and brought them 
to their city of habitation. # 

The appearance of Naomi with Ruth the Moa- 
bitess, excited much surprise at Bethlehem. It is pro- 
bable the inhabitants of that city never expected to 
see her more. She had been ten years absent, and 
they knew not that she was still alive. She was now 
to her former acquaintances almost like one who had 
returned to them from the land of forgetful&ess. 

The great alteration in her condition would like- 
wise excite their surprise. She went out with her hus- 
band and two sons, and returned only with a stranger^ 
whom none would expect to see, a young woman of 
the land of Moab. Many alterations take place m 
families within the space of a few years, but these al- 
terations are the less observed that they are made by 
slow degrees. First one dies, and then-,, when he is. 
forgotten, a second, and a third. This is the common 
course of things ; but if two or three should die out of 
a family at the same time, all the neighbourhood would 
be struck with astonishment, all the friends of the sur- 
vivors would be filled with compassion. Such did the 
case of Naomi appear to her acquaintances, who now, 
for the first time, seem to have been informed of th$ 
etenge in her condition, 



70 the history [Lect. 8* 

If you consider what changes have befallen many 
of your neighbours within the last ten years, you will 
be struck with a sense of the mutability of all human 
things. Many have within the compass of that time, 
lost their father, their mother, some of their children, 
their friends whom they most loved of any thing upon 
earth. If you have lost such friends, God has been 
loudly calling you to set your affections on things- 
above, not on things of the earth. If you have not, 
remember that your earthly comforts are as uncertain 
as those of your neighbours. The next ten years ' 
may leave you as desolate as the last ten years have 
left any of your friends.. Your husbands, your wives,, 
your children, are as liable to the stroke of death as 
theirs. Whilst you pity them, learn to provide con- 
solations for yourselves for the time w r hen you will 1 
need it as much as they. Naomi now appeared in a 
very different condition from that in which her neigh- 
bours had formerly known her. But those who knew 
her piety would not think her miserable. She had 
lost her husband, but not her God. She might have 
still said, "Although my husband is dead, and my 
children are dead, I know that my Redeemer liveth. 
The Lord liveth, blessed be my rock! and the God' 
of my salvation be magnified!" Naomi, however, at 
meeting with her old acquaintances, had her soul har- 
rowed afresh by the recollection of her former enjoy- 
ments, which were now lost to her for ever. 

Ver. 20. — And she said unto them. Call me not Na- 
omi, call me Mara ; for the Almighty hath dealt very 
bitterly with me. 

Naomi now saw many of the former acquaintances 
of her husband and her sons. These acquaintances' 



: Ch. i. 19,-22.] op ruth. 71 

•would expect to hear of all that had befallen them in 
the land of Moab, and would speak of many things that 
tended to revive the remembrance in Naomi's mind 
cf the pleasant days she had passed in their society. 
Her heart bled at the recollection. No wonder that 
her words on this occasion, express a bitterness of 
heart that attracts our pity ; but it is the bitterness of 
grief, not of impatience. She is very deeply humbled 
under the mighty hand of God, but does not fret at 
the dispensations of his providence* 

Call me not Naomi, but call me Mara, Naomi 
signifies pleasant, Mara signifies bitter. Naomi's 
name, when it was mentioned by her friends, added 
to her grief, because it brought to her mind all the 
pleasant things which she had enjoyed in the time of 
her prosperity. It is very probable, that, in former 
days, either she herself, or some of her friends, might 
ve hew well her circumstances suited her name. 
As she was a woman of a pleasant disposition, she 
gained the love of her husband, her sons, her neigh- 
bours ; and life is pleasant to those who enjoy the 
friendship of all around them, especially as they are 
disposed to make themselves happy, when happiness 
is in their power. But the recollection of the delight- 
ful days she had spent in the bosom of her family and 
in the visits of her friends, was more grievous to her* 
Her earthly happiness was fled and gone. She cculd 
toot now be happy in a town, which was emptied of 
-those things that made k ibinierly delightful. She 
could not communicate that pleasure to her acquain- 
tance which she once did. She could not now wear 
that cheerful air which once beautified her counte- 
nance. She could not mingle in cheerful converse. 



72 the history [Lect. 5, 

She had it not in her power to endear herself by acts 
or by words of kindness, as in former days* She 
might very probably think, in this burst of grief which 
broke forth at the sight of her old acquaintances, that 
her very name would be a source of perpetual afflic- 
tion, and that she w r ould not be able to hear it pro- 
nounced without a constant renovation of what she 
now felt, " The heart knoweth its own bitterness ;" 
and there are little circumstances unknown and unfelt 
by others, that exasperate the sorrows of the afflicted 
in a very great degree. 

Call me not Naomi, but call me Mara. We ex- 
cuse these words from the time when they were spo- 
ken. They were dictated by passion rather than by 
judgment; not indeed by the passions of anger and 
discontentment, but by the passion of grief, and of 
grief excited by the best and loveliest affections. 
She thought it impossible that her days should ever 
again be pleasant, because Elimelech, and Mahlon, 
and Chilion, were no more to be her companions* 
But w r e ought not so to lament the comforts we have 
Jost, as to think that ail our future days must be spent 
in bitterness. Has God taken away from us every 
thing that can render life comfortable ? Has he writ- 
ten such bitter things against us, that our eye can ne* 
ver more see good ? Let us mourn for our departed 
friends. " By the sorrow of the countenance, the 
heart is made better." Yet, when they are taken 
away from us, let us not say, " Our gods are taken 
away, what have we more?" God can give us joy 
for mourning. He can even turn our mourning, and 
the cause of our mourning, into causes of the most 
heart-felt joy. " Mine eye shall no more see good," 



Ch. i. 13,-22.] op ruth, 73 

•said Job in the day of his griefs ; but he was hap- 
pily disappointed, for he saw more good after his af- 
flictions, than he had ever seen before them, 

Whatever evils befal us in life, let us not forget 
from whence they come. __" Out of the mouth of the 
Most High proceedeth not evil and good '?" It is he 
that " killeth and maketh alive, that bringeth down 
-to the crave and bringeth up." Of this Naomi was 
sensible. K Call me Mara, for the Almighty hath 
dealt very bitterly with me." Had her husband and 
her children died by the hand of violence in a strange 
land, she would have seen the agency of divine Pro- 
vidence in the injuries of wicked men. But, as mat- 
ters stood, she had none to blame for the calamities 
that came upon her, unless she thought, as she was 
likely to do, that she had brought her calamities upon 
herself by sin-. There was no hand of man laid upon 
her beloved friends. Their death was caused by the 
visitation of the Almighty, who can do no injury to 
-any of his creatures. 

The Jllmighiy hath dealt bitterly with me. If all 
-our afflictions come from the Almighty, it is in vain, 
as well as impious, to contend with him that smites us. 
Shall the potsherds of the earth strive with their Ma- 
ker, who has all power to do with them as he pleases ? 
He cannot be effectually opposed, and he can do no- 
thing that is wrong. Weak mortals may injure their 
fellow-creatures for their own advantage ; but what 
profit can it be to the Almighty, that he should op- 
press the work of his own hands ? i: Yea, surely. God 
will not do wickedly : neither will the Almighty per- 
vert judgment. Who hath given him a charge over 
the earth, or who hath disposed the whole world ? If 



74 THE HISTORY [Lect. 5. 

he set his heart upon man ; if he gather unto himself 
his spirit and his breath, all flesh shall perish to- 
gether, and shall turn unto dust." And what can we 
say if the Almighty should thus display his sovereign 
power ? - " Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked^ 
and to princes, Ye are ungodly ? how much less to him 
that accepteth not the persons of princes, and regard- 
eth not the rich more than the poor, for they all are 
the work of his hands ?" 

This name, which we render Almighty, is by ma- 
ny understood to signify the all-sufficiency of God. 
He is able to do what he pleases, and there is an 
abundant and overflowing fulness with him to supply 
all our w r ants, and to satisfy all our desires ; and 
therefore, when, by the strokes of his hand, we are 
deprived of the sweetest of our created enjoyments, 
it will be our wisdom, instead of fretting at our losses, 
to seek a compensation for them in the enjoyment of 
himself. Out of his riches in glory, by Christ Jesus, 
he can supply all our wants. In the enjoyment of 
his favour, which is better than life, we may find 
abundant satisfaction when all things look black and 
dark around us. Have, we lost father, mother, chil- 
dren, friends ? He is a thousand times better than 
them all to those who choose him for their portion, 
Hab. iii. 17, 10. 

The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. It 
is natural for mourners to aggravate their own afflic- 
tions, and to call on all their neighbours to u behold 
and see if there be any sorrow like unto their sorrow 
which is done unto them, wherewith the Lord hath af- 
flicted them in the day of his fierce anger." Naomi 
had better reason than most persons, to think that 



Ch. i. 19.— 22.] of ruth. 75 

the Almighty had dealt very bitterly with her, when 
she had not a single child spared to her in the fall of 
her family ; yet Job was afflicted with heavier strokes, 
and after all could praise the Lord, saying, " The 
Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away ; 
blessed be the name of the Lord. Shall we receive 
good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not re* 
ceive evil also '?" 

It is undoubtedly our duty to consider the divine 
dispensations towards us with attention, and to feel 
the scourge with which God is pleased to wound us. 
He will not lay upon man more than is meet, and 
therefore it is unsafe to be regardless of any of those 
heavy circumstances, by which he is pleased to em- 
bitter our earthly condition. If they are all designed 
for the accomplishment of some purpose concerning 
us, we must endeavour to answer God's designs, that 
we may not bring upon ourselves heaver calamities 
than we have yet felt. We may however err, by 
thinking our calamities heavier, when they are com- 
pared with other men's calamities, than they really 
are. Into this mistake, persons of a sorrowful spirit 
are ready to fall, to the no little damage of their souls. 
They may be full of complaint, when they have rea- 
son to be thankful that their situation is not worse. 
They may deny themselves that comfort which God 
is pleased to allow them, and disable themselves from 
giving glory to God in the fires, by that cheerful pa- 
tience which is at all times our duty. 

Do you ask how you may keep clear of both ex- 
tremes ? That you may be preserved from the un- 
happy effects which may result from too slight thoughts 
of divine correction, consider how loudly God calls 



76 THE HISTORY [Lect, B~ 

you, by various circumstances of affliction, to consi- 
der your ways. How inexcusable must you be, after 
all God's dealings with you, if you are found indulg- 
ing any of those corrupt affections which you are cal- 
led to mortify, or neglecting any of those duties to 
which your chastisements ought to rouse you ! Jere- 
miah, in the book of the Lamentations, teaches the 
church deeply to deplore her miseries ; but to what 
end ? Not to inspire her with despondency, for he 
teacheth her to say, " The Lord will not cast off for 
ever ; but though he cause grief, yet will he have 
compassion according to the multitude of his mer- 
cies." The true reason why the prophet wished his 
people to feel their calamities was, that they might be 
thoroughly awakened to comply with his exhorta- 
tions : Let us search and try our ways, and let us 
turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts with 
our hands, to God in the heavens." 

To prevent the bad effects that might result frona 
too deep sensibility to our distresses, as if they ex- 
ceeded the bounds which God is ordinarily pleased 
to set to his severities in dealing with his own peo- 
ple, it will be proper for us to consider, the good aS 
well as the evil things in our condition ; fairly to- 
compare our grounds of complaint with those of oth- 
ers of God's people, either in our own times or in past 
times ; and to remember that the " end of a thing is 
better than the beginning thereof.' 5 Nor ought we 
«ver to forget, that, whatever grounds we have foi? 
humiliation under the mighty hand of God, for con- 
fession of sins, for fasting, for speedy reformation of 
every thing amiss in our tempers and conduct, these 
do not affect the grounds of our faith in God through 



Ch. i. 19,— 22. J of ruth, 7? 

Christ Jesus, nor supersede the duty of glorifying the 
Lord in the evil day, by the patient enduring of his 
will, and by expressing our faith and joy in the Lord. 
David, in the days of his troubles, though conscious 
that he had provoked the" divine displeasure against 
himself, did not despair of seeing the face of God 
again with joy. i: Why art thou cast down, O my 
soul ? and why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope 
thou in God, for I shall yet praise him." 

Ver. 21. — I went out full, and the Lord hath 
brought me home again empty. Why then call ye me 
Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and 
the Almighty hath afflicted me ? 

u The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. M 
When he gives, he is under no necessity of securing 
to us die possession of what he gives* We may soon 
provoke him, by our sins, io bereave us of all that he 
hath given us ; but however careful we may be to 
please him, we cannot merit the continuance of his 
favours, and, without any special provocation on our 
part, he may have good reasons for impoverishing us, 
and placing us in conditions quite the reverse of those 
to which we have been accustomed. Millions have 
found reason to say in the course of their earthly pil- 
grimage, that once they were full, but the Lord hath 
emptied them. And one great reason why God so 
frequently changes men's prosperous condition into 
misery, is, to teach us the folly of trusting to our pre- 
sent enjoyments. ft But this I say, brethren, the time 
is short. It remained! that both they that have wives 
be as though they had none, and they lhat weep as 
though they wept not, and they tfiat rejoice as though 
they rejoiced not, and they that buy as though 

G2 



7$ THE HrSTOHf [Lect. |>> 

they possessed not, and they that use this world 
as not abusing it ; for the fashion of this world pas- 
seth away*" 

That Naomi was once full and was now empty, we 
can easily believe. But what does she mean by say- 
ing, / went out full, but the Lord hath brought me 
again empty ? Was she not so empty when she went out y 
that she was forced to leave her native land for bread ? 
And had she not now at her return the prospect o$ 
finding bread in her own land ? Why then does she 
make herself so much richer at her departure than al 
her return ? 

It is natural for men under depression of spirit to 
make unfair and invidious comparisons, both of their 
own condition with that of others, and of their own 
former, with their present condition. When we look 
back on the past period of our life, if it has been on 
the whole prosperous, we forget those little vexations 
and disgusts that mingled themselves with our enjoy- 
ments, and fondly fix our review on the pleasant things 
that sweetened our former days. But when we con- 
sider our present condition, if we have been afflicted 
by the hand of God, and felt his chastisements, we are 
ready to mistake the comfortable parts of our condi- 
tion, and, whilst our minds are occupied with former 
and present pains, we fondly imagine that if we could 
recover all the pleasures of our former life, we would 
be superlatively blessed ; but when this cannot be 
expected, we seem to be fallen into an abyss of mise- 
ry from which we can never be raised up. Thus we 
often, by our folly, make our present days miserable, 
when they might be enjoyed with some degree of 
comfort. The lies which our fancies invent, we §& 



Ch. i. 19,-22.] Of ruth. W 

lieve at their report, although we might easily know 
the deception. 

But Naomi could with propriety say that she had 
gone out full, although her family was impoverished 
when she left the holy land. Although she was des- 
titute of silver and gold, and of the conveniences, and 
almost of the necessaries of life, she was rich in the 
possession of her husband and children. At that 
time, when she compared her present condition with 
her former, she thought that she was poor ; but when 
she now compared it with that condition in which she 
returned to the land of Israel, destitute of those riches 
which she thought far more valuable than gold and 
silver, she says, / went out full. She was now sen- 
sible that she might have been happy and thankful 
at that time, although it may be questioned whether 
she thought so when the necessity of a voluntary ex- 
ile damped her spirit. Too often our vexations cause 
us to forget our mercies. When every thing is not 
agreeable to our wishes, we sink in one disquiet the 
sense of an hundred mercies. We are unhappy, be- 
cause we want one or two of the many things which 
^ve think necessary for our comfort. God deprives 
us of one or two more of the ingredients of our felicir- 
ty, of far more consequence than the former, and this 
convinces us that we had formerly much more reason 
to be thankful than we could then believe. A little 
reflection might convince us, that we still have reason 
to be thankful. " It is of the Lord's mercies that we 
are not consumed." 

Consider these w T ords of Naomi, ye who have your 
families yet spared, although you find it difficult, in the 
present distress,* to provide for them. " Is not this 

* This discourse w^s delivered in a time of scarcity. 



80 the history [Lect. 5, 

life more than meat, and the body than raiment ? n 
Bless God for the life of your friends, when your cup- 
boards are empty. Do not say that you are bereaved 
of every thing that makes life comfortable, if you en- 
joy the sweet society of those whom you love, or ought 
to love, as parts of yourselves. If you thanklessly 
bemoan your condition, as if God had bereaved you 
of all the fruits of his mercy, the time may come wheri 
you will think that you was full, although you thought 
yourself empty : and ought to have blessed God for 
what he gave and preserved, when you were giving 
a loose to useless wailings for what he had taken 
away. 

But if any of you are in Naomrs condition, bereav- 
ed not only of your substance, but of your friends-, 
which are more precious to you than your substance, 
amidst your humiliation of spirit under the rebukes of 
God, remember that the mercy of God is not clean 
gone. Ruth was left to the good woman when her 
sons were lost, and she was as good to her as ten sons. 
Had she not great reason to be thankful for the daugh- 
ter whom she had born in her exile ? for Ruth was 
not only the daughter-in-law of Naomi according ta 
the flesh, but her spiritual daughter in the Lord. 

If no friends of any kind are left to you on this earth, 
have you not a friend in heaven? Is not Christ the 
friend of our race ? and does he not call unto you 
from heaven to come unto him, that you may find in 
him that rest, that satisfaction, which nothing earthly 
can give ? 

Why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath 
testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted 
me ? Afflictions are a testimony against men that they 



Ch. i. 19,— 22/] or ruthy tl 

are sinners, but they are not always a testimony that 
the sufferer is guilty of some particular sins for which 
God chastiseth him, Job ii. 3. Yet, when our cala- 
mities are chastisements, they are testimonies of God's 
displeasure on account of-our offences, Psal. cvii. 17. 
Those who are broken in their spirit, are disposed to 
think of their sins under their afflictions, and to ac- 
knowledge that they are testimonies against them, 
the fruits of a just quarrel that God carries on with 
them. They know that they need corrections, and 
confess that they have deserved all that comes upon 
them, and a thousand times more. 

Yet we must not judge our neighbours, because 
they are sore afflicted ; for although they well de- 
serve all that comes upon them, we may deserve as 
much, and more. And if we are not corrected by 
God when we offend him, we are so far from having 
any reason to magnify ourselves against God's afflic- 
ted people, that we have reason to tremble lest we are 
found " bastards, and not sons ; for what son is he 
whom the Father chasteneth not ?" 

And the Almighty hath afflicted me. Naomi dwells 
upon the consideration that all her calamities came 
from almighty God. If it is God that smites us, then 
let us not slight our troubles, or overlook any part of 
the operations of God's hand ; for none of his works 
are unfruitful works of darkness. But let us not faint 
when we are rebuked of him. " It is the Lord, let 
him do what seemeth him good." He who afflicts 
you, believers, is your God, and your Father. Learn 
from your Redeemer to say, " The cup which my Fa^ 
_ ther hath given me, shall I not drink it V 7 



g2 the history [Lect. 6* 

LECTURE VI. 



EUTR GOES TO GLEAN, AND MEETS WITH BOAZ* 

Chap. ii. 1, — 4* 



Ver. 1. — -And Naomi had a kinsman of her hus~ 
bandh) a mighty man of wealth, of the family of EH-- 
melech ; and his name was Boaz* 

SOME allege that all men ought to be equal in wealth g 
but God maketh rich, and maketh poor. He gives 
to some men power to get wealth, and withholds that 
power from others. He enables some to leave wealth 
to their families, whilst the families of other men are 
left to struggle with all the inconveniences of poverty*. 
" Who shall say to God, What dost thou ?" or, Why 
disposest thou so unequally of thy benefits ? " The 
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." He 
hath given the earth indeed to the children of men, 
but he was not bound to give to every one of them 
equal portions of it. If he has given us any portion 
of it for our necessary subsistence, we ought to be 
content and thankful. Still more, if he hath given us 
an ordinary portion of the comforts of life. If we are 
displeased because he has not given us so much as 
he has given to some of our neighbours, " our eye is 



Ch. ii. 1.— 4.] of ruth. 83 

evil because he is good." "What hast thou given to 
God ? Verily thy claim, and thou shalt be recompen- 
sed. God will be in no man's debt. 

Naomi was very poor, and she had a kinsman by 
affinity who was very rich. Nothing is more com- 
mon than for the rich to have poor, and the poor to 
have rich relations. Let a man exert all his activi- 
ty, let his labours be attended with all the success he 
can wish, let him have the comfort of seeing his chil- 
dren becoming rich whilst he yet lives with them, yet 
it is not to be expected that many years will elapse 
till some of his posterity feel the inconveniences of 
poverty. Elimelech was probably, as well as Boaz, 
of the princely race of Nahshon ; yet Boaz was a 
mighty man of wealth, when Elimelech was under the 
necessity of leaving his country to seek bread in a 
foreign land. Our happiness is very precarious if it 
is placed either in our wealth or in our children. 
"What multitudes of Abraham's posterity are now in a 
wretched condition, although he abounded in wealth 
whilst he lived in this world ! But he sought his hap- 
piness in God, and in the better country. 

Boaz is said to have been a mighty mem of wealth* 
The meaning is, that he possessed a very large por- 
tion of riches. But the expression may remind us of 
the power that is ordinarily conferred by wealth. 
Rich men can do much, although not so much as many 
think they have it in their power to do. How many 
excellent tilings were done by Job ! By the wise and 
charitable distribution of his wealth, he was eyes to 
the blind, feet to the lame, an husband to the widow, 
a father to the fatherless ; and many blessings of them 
that were ready to perish came upon him. Yet 



•4 THE HISTORY [LeCt. 6> 

let us not envy the rich. They have power to do hurt 
as well as good ; and they can do themselves much 
more hurt than they can do to any one else. We trust 
too much to ourselves, if we think that we would cer- 
tainly make a good use of riches if we possessed 
them. Even Solomon, with all his wisdom, found that 
his wealth was, in many instances, a snare. He did 
much good, but he also did much evil which would 
not have been in his power if he had been a poor 
man. 

Naomi had a kinsman of her husband? $. Marriage 
makes the husband and wife one flesh. The kins- 
men of the one ought therefore to be accounted the 
kinsmen of the other. It is wisely ordered by the 
great Lawgiver, that men should not marry the near- 
est of their own kindred, that various families might 
be connected by means of this institution. Let every 
man, therefore, and every woman, learn to shew that 
respect and kindness to their relations by marriage, 
which they owe to their relations by blood. If we 
admire the behaviour of Naomi and Ruth, why do we 
not follow their example as far as our circumstances 
are like theirs ? 

Ver. 2. — And Ruth, the Moabitess, said unto Nao- 
mi, Let me nozv go to the field, and glean ears of com 
after him in whose sight I shall find grace. 

Ruth is again called the Moabitess. It was her ho- 
nour that, when her birth and her nativity were of the 
land of Moab, her behaviour was that of an Israelitess 
indeed. There are fools who upbraid men 9r women 
of virtue, with their parentage or their country. It is 
mentioned to the honour of Ruth, rot that she was a 
Moabitess, but that, being a Moabitess, she was a 



. ii. I,— 4.] of RUTH* 85 

woman of virtue and piety. It will be the condemna- 
tion of many, that, when they were born in the church 
of God, they behaved as if their father had been an 
Amorite, and their mother an Hittite. It will be the 
praise of others, that theyibrgot their father's house, 
and their own people, to join themselves unto the 
Lord. - 

She said to Naomi, Let me go and glean* It was 
necessary for her to think of some way of obtaining a 
livelihood for herself and for her mother-in-law, who 
had returned empty to Bethlehem. Some women in 
Naomi's condition would have thought themselves enti- 
tled to a decent support from their rich relations ; but 
the good woman did not wish to be troublesome to her 
friends. It does not appear that she had even spo- 
ken of them to Ruth, and Ruth knew no Way of ob- 
taining bread but by her own industry. As long as 
we can live by the labour of our own hands-, why 
should we be a burden to others ? This the apostle 
Paul declares, that " if any man will not work, nei- 
ther should he eat." 

But why does Ruth propose such a mean employ- 
ment as that of gathering ears of corn wherever she 
could find a man that would give her leave ? Should 
not a woman, connected by marriage with an illus- 
trious family in Judah, have sought out a more ho- 
nourable employment ? It is to be considered, that the 
land of Israel was not a commercial country like ours, 
and afforded much less choice of employment to the 
poor. Besides, the refinements of our age and coun- 
try were never thought of in those ancient times. We 
find that Boaz w r as far from being ashamed of the em- 
ployment chosen by his kinswoman, if she could be 

II 



8$ the history [Lect. 6. 

said to have made a choice where choice was perhaps 
not in her power. She and her mother needed bread ; 
and no time was left her for seeking out another way 
of life, till present wants were supplied. 

44 When ye reap the harvest of your land," said 
God to his people, " thou shalt not wholly reap the 
corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the 
gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean 
thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape 
of thy vineyard. Thou shalt leave them to the poor 
and stranger : I am the Lord your God." Lev. xix. 
In these words, God gives to the poor and stranger a 
right to glean in the fields of the Israelites. Ruth was 
both poor and a stranger. The same God who gave 
the field to the proprietor, gave the gleanings to the 
poor and stranger. She had the same right to glean 
in the fields, which the disciples of Jesus had to pluck 
the ears of corn in another man's field, and yet the 
malicious Pharisees did not question their right to do 
it on a labouring day, because the law had said, 
44 When thou contest into the standing corn of thy 
neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy 
hand, but thou shalt not move a sickle into thy neigh- 
bour's standing corn." 

Yet Ruth, who was probably ignorant of the law, 
was willing to accept as a favour what she might 
have claimed as a right. " Let me go and glean in 
the man's field, in whose sight I shall find grace." 
The poor are often too bold in their claims. They 
have a title, by the law of God, to their necessary 
food from the rich ; yet they ought to be thankful to 
the rich when they are willing to allow their claim. 
The rich should be ready to distribute ; yet they must 



Ch. ii. 1, — 4.] of ruth* 87 

be judges of their own ability to distribute, of the per- 
sons that have a claim upon their charity, and of the 
share that these claimants ought to have of the fruits 
of their liberality. The modest and thankful among 
the poor, will be most cheerfully and liberally sup- 
plied ; nor will they be despised for their poverty by 
any Christian w T ho remembers that our Lord was once 
so poor for their sakes, that he accepted of the minis- 
trations of the substance of many women from Galilee 
Impudence and greediness will expose poor persons 
to contempt and neglect, but honest poverty will al- 
ways meet with respect. 

" Let me go and glean in the field of the man that 
will favour me with permission." She is willing to 
employ herself in this mean occupation, rather than 
return to the land of Moab, where she might perhaps 
have found a more plentiful subsistence, without in- 
curring obligations to strangers. She was a true 
daughter of Abraham, although she sprung from Lot. 
When Abraham came into the land whither Ruth had 
now come to dwell, there was a famine, and Abraham 
never thought of returning to the country of his kin- 
dred, which he had left in obedience to God. He 
would rather risk his own life, and what was dearer 
to him than his life, amongst strangers, than return to 
the country which God had commanded him to leave. 
Ruth would rather have been a gleaner of the ears of 
corn in the land of Israel, than a lady in the land of 
Moab. She had come to trust under the shadow of 
the wings of Naomi's God ; and the meanest estate in 
the land wiiere he was known, was preferable in her 
eyes to the highest station in a land of idolaters. 

Ruth does not propose that Naomi should go with 



80 we history [LeeL 6e 

her to the field* She wished her honoured mother to 
enjoy the rest and ease suited to her time of life ? 
whilst herself was exposed to the troubles and incon- 
veniences of her humble occupation in the fields of 
strangers. Young persons should be cheerfully wil- 
ling to bear fatigues and troubles for the sake of their 
aged parents, that they may enjoy such ease as the 
infirmities of age require. Let those who are in the 
vigour of age, if their parents are feeble, remember 
what their moAers endured for them in infancy or in 
sickness, how they willingly suffered anxiety of mind^ 
the want of sleep, and many fatigues of body, that 
their beloved offspring might enjoy pleasure, or be 
relieved from distress. How selfish are the spirits of 
those young persons who grudge toil or expense foe 
their parents in that time of life when they can enjoy 
little pleasure but what arises from beholding the af«^ 
fectionate attachment of their children * The chari- 
ties of the heart sweeten life. A young woman cheer- 
fully labouring for aged parents,. is far happier than a 
fashionable lady spending in idleness and dissipation 
ihe fruits of the industry of her ancestors. 

David, the great grandson of Ruth, shewed a like 
regard to his parents with that which Ruth shewed to 
her mother-in-law. Jesse needed no provision to be 
made by his children for his old age ; but he found 
himself under a necessity of becoming an exile, to 
avoid the rage of the tyrant,, whose hatred to the son 
of Jesse extended to all his friends. David was un*u 
willing that his aged parents should share in the toils 
and dangers of his wandering life; and therefore he> 
supplicated the king of Moab to afford them protect 
tion till he should know what God would do for h'm% 



Ch. ii. 1, — 4.] o? ruth. 8$ 

In his distresses he wished not his parents to share, 
but resolved that they should share in his prosperity 
if they were spared to see it. 

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter, Naomi 
was blessed with the same humble and kind dispo- 
sition with her daughter-in-law. Doubtless, it was a 
great grief to her that she could not place Ruth in a 
more comfortable and respectable condition among 
her own people ; but since it was the will of God that 
they should live in poverty, and subsist by the hum- 
blest of occupations, she readily submits to his plea- 
sure. Why should we repine at God's dealings with 
either ourselves or our friends ? If God has humbled 
them by his providence, we ought to be thankful if he 
has given them a spirit suited to their lot. If he has 
given them little, let us be thankful for that little. If 
he has given them nothing, let us be thankful if he has 
given them hands and an heart to work. Every thing 
. that God gives any of us, and every opportunity 
of obtaining what wc need, is an undeserved mercy 
from the Giver of all good. 

Go, my daughter. The affection of Ruth to Naomi 
was not unmerited. Naomi loved and treated Ruth 
as a daughter. The law of kindness was in her 
mouth, and transfused gratitude and love into the heart 
of her daughter-in-law. Mothers often complain, 
with reason, of the ingratitude of their children ; yet 
one of the reasons is frequently to be found at home. 
If there were more Naomis, we might expect to see 
more Ruths. Undoubtedly, children owe affection 
and honour to their mothers, in whatever manner they 
behave. The relation, independently of every other 
consideration, demands filial duty. But why should 

H2 



90 THE HISTORY [Lett, 0* 

parents, by coldness or rudeness to tfie fruit of their 
own bodies, provoke them to break the first command- 
ment with promise, to the prejudice of both them- 
selves and their children ? If it is the duty of children 
to honour their parents, it must be the duty of parents 
to behave in such a way as to procure honour from 
their children* 

Some parents do much for their children, and put 
themselves to a great deal of trouble on their account, 
and after all lose the thanks which they might have, 
by the coldness, the bitterness, the repulsive manner, 
with which they often speak to them, " Is not a 
word better than a gift ? but both are with a gracious 
man/ 1 Our Lord tells us, that by our words we shall 
be justified and condemned \ and there is no place 
where our tongues ought to be better governed than m 
our own houses. It is delightful to visit those fami- 
lies where the various members appear, from their 
mutual converse, intent upon making one another 
happy. It is painful to observe sons and daughters, 
fathers and mothers, w 7 ives and husbands, turning 
their common dwelling into a house of correction to 
one another, 

Ver. 3.— And she went, and came, and gleaned in 
the field after the reapers ; and her hap was to light ou 
a part of the f eld belonging unto Boaz, who was of the 
kindred of Elimelech. 

There are some whose virtue and industry lie only 
in their tongues. They say, and do not. But Ruth 
was no less diligent in business, than wise in her re- 
solutions. When she obtained Naomi's leave, she 
went forth immediately to the field, and asked leave 
of a certain steward whom she met with, to glean a»d 



Ch. ii. 1, — 4.] or Rrrav 91 

gather after the reapers among the sheaves. This 
leave being readily granted her. she entered with 
cheerfulness upon her work, in which she continued 
till the heat of the day compelled her to make use of 
a shelter. 

Although Naomi had several relations at Bethle- 
hem, she did not desire Ruth to go to any of their 
fields. Not that she wanted confidence in their kind- 
ness. She was at least sensible that Boaz had been 
a kind friend before she went to the country of Mo- 
ab ; but she knew that her poverty gave her a right 
to send Ruth to glean in the field of any of the Israel- 
ites, and she seems not to have wished to appear trou- 
blesome to her relations. Those are most likely to 
meet with kindness from their rich friends, who are 
least intrusive. 

It was the hap of Ruth to come into the field of 
Boaz ; and her coming into his field, brought her into 
acquaintance with the man who was to be her hus- 
band, and by whom she was to become one of the mo- 
thers of our -Lord. The misery or happiness of our 
life, is often derived from accidents that appear quite 
trivial. ;i Time and chance happeneth to all men/' 
and no man can tell what consequences the slightest 
accident may have. Connections happy or perni- 
cious, riches or poverty, life or death, may be the 
consequence of a walk or a visit intended for the 
amusement of a single hour. 

It is plain that divine Providence was her conduc- 
tor to the field of Boaz. Nothing is accidental to 
God. When the lot is cast into the lap, the dispo- 
ning, the whole disposing of it, is of the Lord, We 
arc ever i» his hands, and he can bring the richest 



92 th3 history [Lect. 6V 

benefits, or the sorest chastisements, out of causes 
from which we formed no apprehension, either of 
good or evil. 

" The steps of a good man are ordered by the 
Lord, and he greatly delighteth in his way/' The 
same God that brought Ruth from Moab to Bethle- 
hem, led her to the field of Boaz for her good. He 
led her to the land of Israel, that she might be fully 
instructed in righteousness. He led her to the field 
of Boaz, that her virtue might become conspicuous to 
a man who had it in his power and in his will to re- 
ward her. When Abraham's servant went to take a 
wife to his son from amongst his kindred, Abraham 
told him that the God before whom he walked would 
send his angel to conduct him ; and the faithful ser- 
vant thankfully acknowledged that he had not been 
amused with vain hopes. ^ I being in the way the 
Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren." 
All who are wise enough to observe the agency of 
Providence in the various accidents of their lives, will- 
find like reason with Abraham's servant to praise 
God for his goodness. We may indeed recollect a 
variety of accidents that have proved hurtful, as well 
as others that have turned out beneficial to us. But 
to those who are taught to make a due improvement 
of what befals them, nothing is eventually hurtful. 
" There shall no evil happen to the just." The things 
that are evil to others are good to them. " All the 
paths of the Lord our God are mercy and truth to 
them that remember his covenant and his testimo- 
nies." 

Ver. 4. — And behold Boaz came from Bethlehem^ 



Ch. ii, 1, — 4.] or rutm. 9S 

and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And 
they answered him, The Lord bless thee. 

Boaz was an old man, and he had a steward set 
over the reapers. Yet he came from Bethlehem to 
see with his own eyes how his work was performed. 
When our Lord says, " Take no thought what ye shall 
eat or drink, 5 ' or as the words ought rather to have 
been rendered, Take no anxious thought what ye 
shall eat or drink, he does not recommend indolence 
or carelessness about our worldly business. We must 
seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness^ 
and then all other things shall be added to us ; but 
they shall be added to us whilst we are using war- 
rantable means to obtain them. "Be diligent, 55 says 
Solomon, " to know the state of thy flocks, and look 
weii to thy herds. 55 Slothfulness may be the ruin of 
men of princely fortunes, u for riches are not for ever 5 
and doth the crown endure unto all generations ? 55 

Although Baas was a rich man, he despised not 
his man-servants nor his maid-servants. He did not 
look upon his reapers with a supercilious eye. He 
did not come unto them with words cf pride or re- 
proach, but with a blessing in his mouth. The Lord 
be with you. He was a good man, and there is na 
place where real goodness will more display itself 
than in a man ? s own family, not only to his wife and 
children, but likewise to his servants. A good master 
will be a father to his servants when they faithfully 
perform their work. Sm:h even Naaman, when he 
was an heathen, appears to have been ; and happy 
was it for himself that he had taught his servants to 
look upon him as a father. Few parents have deriv- 
ed such benefits from the most dutiful children as Naa^ 



94 the history [Lect. 6. 

man derived from the confidence and duty of his ser- 
vants, when they advised him to comply with the pro- 
phet's advice. 

Good men will pray for the best blessings to their 
neighbours around them, and especially to those of 
their own house. It has been often the happiness of 
masters to be blessed with praying servants, and often 
the happiness of servants to have masters whose pray- 
ers brought down the blessing of heaven upon those 
who dwelt under their roof. 

The Lord be with you. This was a real prayer 
from the mouth of Boaz. It is too common with men 
to say, " God be with you," when God is not in their 
thoughts. The name of God is profaned when it is 
used without consideration. It is reported of the 
great philosopher Boyle, that he never mentioned the 
name of God without making a visible pause in his 
discourse. Most certainly none of us ought to men- 
tion such an awful name without thinking of him who 
is called by it, or to seek any thing from him for our- 
selves or others without earnest desires to obtain it, 
and without a becoming sense of our dependence upon 
him for all those good things which we wish ourselves 
or others to enjoy. 

All good things are requested in this prayer, Tks 
Lord be with thee. God's presence and favour will 
satisfy our souls, will supply every want, will turn 
sorrow into joy, and the shadow of death into the 
morning. But without God's presence and blessing, 
the richest confluence of sublunary blessings will leave 
us wretched and miserable, poor, and blind, and na- 
ked. The laborious reapers, whose toils ended only 
with the sun, and were every day renewed, were hap- 



Ch. ii. 1, — 4.] of ruth, 95 

py beyond expression if their master's prater was 
heard. The kings who reign over many lands know 
not what happiness means, if they have nothing but 
what earth can bestow. " Many say, Who will shew 
ns any good ?" but few know what that good is which 
they should constantly seek to obtain. " Lord, lift 
up the light of thy countenance upon us," and our 
hearts will be filled with that gladness, which the men 
who have their portion in this life never taste, in the 
richest abundance of their corn and wine. 

The Lord bless thee, said the reapers to Boaz. 
They loved their master, they were grateful for his 
kindness, they prayed for the same blessings to him 
which he requested for them. Masters often com- 
plain of the selfishness of their servants, and the com- 
plaint is often too just. But they must be very de- 
praved men who are not faithful servants and sincere 
friends to such masters as Boaz. " Even publicans," 
savs our Lord, " love those who love themselves." 

The Lord be with you. — The Lord bless thee* Such 
were the petitions which the Israelites were taught 
by God to present to his throne, for themselves and 
for one another. The priests were commanded to 
pray for all the people in these words, " The Lord 
bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord make his face 
to shine upon thee, and be gracious to thee. The 
Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee 
peace." " Grace be unto you, and peace," &c. or, 
" The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you 
all," is the prayer of Paul for all the churches. 
Christians are called to inherit a blessing, and there- 
fore they must bless and not curse. They ought to 
Mess even those who curse themselves. It is God 



96 THE history [Lett. 6* 

alone who can give the blessings that we need ; but 
we are both required and abundantly encouraged to 
ask his blessings, not only for yourselves, but for our 
friends and neighbours, our kindred and servants. 
He is the fountain of blessings. Fie sent his son into 
the world to purchase for us the best blessings. He 
hath promised that men shall be blessed in him, and 
that all generations shall call him blessed. " Ask 5 
and ye shall receive." Ask for your friends and de- 
pendents. You are not straitened in him who giveth 
liberally and upbraideth not. Ask his blessings 
when you are upon your knees in your stated devo- 
tions. Seek them by earnest aspirations when you 
■are on your beds, when you are sitting in the house, 
when you are walking by the way, when you are em- 
ployed in the businesses of life. Never approach ir- 
reverently to the Divine Majesty. But where the 
fear of God habitually governs the heart, prayer need 
not, and will not, be confined to stated times. Such 
requests as these of Boaz and his servants, if they 
are offered up to God in the name of Christ, meet 
with a gracious audience, when the most ostentatious 
devotions of the formalist are despised and abhorred. 



-€fa« ii. &J — 14.] of rstth. 97 

LECTURE VIL 



Chap. ii. 5, — 14. 

Ver. 5. — Then said Boaz unto his servant thai teas 
&el over the reapers. Whose damsel is this ? 

A GREAT man's house is different from an or- 
tlinary man's. There are servants in it of different 
stations. Boaz was a mighty man of wealth, and he 
had not only reapers, but a man set over the reapers* 
Servants commonly need the eye of a master, or of 
one in the place of a master, to direct their work, to 
stimulate industry, to prevent or to remedy dissen- 
sion. Good servants will be pleased with proper su» 
perintendence, and bad servants need it. 

Although Boaz had a faithful steward to govern his 
reapers, he went himself to the field to see how his 
work went on, and he was one of those happy mas 
ters whom the servants were happy to see. 

When he saw the fields covered with plenty, he no 
doubt thought of the goodness of God, who had now 
visited his people, and blessed them, after nine years 
of famine, with fruitful seasons. But his attention 
was soon engaged by a beauteous stranger whom he- 
saw employed in gleaning the ears of corn. lie ask- 
ed the steward who she was, not with an intention to 
check, but with an intention, if he found she deserved 

to give her encouragement* 

I 



9% THE HISTORY [LeCt. % 

Ver. 6. And the servant that was set over the reap* 
ers answered and said. It is the Moabitish damsel 
that came back with Naomi out of the country of 
Moab. 

The first thing required in stewards is, " that a man 
be found faithful" to his employer ; but it is also a 
good property in a steward to be humane towards his 
lord's servants, and towards all that have any depen- 
dence upon him for employment or lavours. The 
man that was set overthe reapers of Boaz had already 
shewed such favour to Ruth as it was the part of a 
steward to do, and, by his answer to his master's 
question concerning her, he was a means of procuring 
her such favour as a steward could not confer without 
permission. Words fitly spoken may do much good, 
and indicate good sense and good dispositions in the 
speaker* 

" It is the Moabitish damsel that came with Nao- 
mi.' 5 She was a Moabitess, but she was well enti- 
tled to all that respect which was due to the females 
of Israel, when she came with Naomi from the coun- 
try of Moab. The Moabites were not to enter into 
the congregation of the Lord until the tenth genera- 
tion. Yet the children of Israel, when they came 
out of Egypt, w 7 ere taught to respect the Moabites as 
the children of Lot, the friend and disciple of Abra- 
ham. They had exchanged the God of their father 
for Chemosh, but Boaz might reasonably pity them 
for their unhappy apostasy, when he considered that 
his own people were reclaimed from many like apos- 
tasies by such extraordinary means as had not been 
employed with any other nation. But whatever might 
he thought of the degenerate race of the righteous 



Gb. ii. 5, — 14.] of ruth, 9S 

Lot, Ruth was entitled to high praise, when she hacj 
left the gods of Moab to worship no other god but the 
God of Israel. 

" It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with 
Naomi." Boaz was related to Naomi. He knew 
her worth, he pitied the unhappy reverses of her for- 
tune, and it was to be expected that he would look 
with a kind eye upon that Moabitish damsel who had 
been her son's wife, and who testified such uncommon 
attachment to her mother-in-law, when the relation 
between them seem to be dissolved. 

It appears from these words of the steward, that 
Boaz had heard of this Moabitish damsel that came 
to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law. It is not to 
be doubted likewise, that he knew the poor circum- 
stances in which they returned. Why then did not 
Boaz, before this time, visit Naomi, and endeavour to 
console her in her afflictions, and to alleviate them ? 
We cannot give a positive answer to this question. 
We can easily say, it was not owing to want of gene- 
rosity and kindness in Boaz, ver. 20. Reasons might 
have hitherto hindered him which are not mentioned, 
and which there was no occasion to mention. Per- 
haps Boaz, though full of good intentions, might be 
too dilatory in executing them. He certainly would 
not have suffered either Naomi, or the Moabitish dam- 
sel, to be oppressed with the extremes of poverty, 
whilst he was able to supply their need 5 but good 
men have sometimes been too slow in executing their 
good intentions. 

Ver. 7.' — And she said, I pray you, let rat glean 
*md gather after the reapers among the sheaves; $0 



100 SHE HISTORY [Lect. ?» 

she came, and hath continued even from the morning 
imtil now, that she tarried a little in the house. 

The steward informs his master, that the Moabitisk 
damsel did not presume to enter the field without 
leave asked and obtained. Nor did he apologize to 
his master for granting her the liberty of gleaning* 
He did nothing but what the authority given him by 
his master warranted him to do. As it is a sin for a 
judge to countenance a poor man in his cause, it 
would be no less criminal in a steward to bestow fa- 
Tours upon the poor, without the consent of his mas- 
ter expressed or understood, But this steward knew 
that Boaz did not wish any poor person to be excluded 
from gleaning in his fields, and least of all a poof 
stranger from the land of Moab, who had shewed so 
strong an attachment to Naomi, and to Naomi's God. 

" She hath continued from the morning even until 
now, that she tarried a little in the house." The 
steward commends her industry in these words. She 
had continued busy at her work from the morning till 
the heat, or some other cause, constrained her for a 
little to take shelter in a house or shed, where it is 
probable the reapers rested at noon. The heat of 
the weather in the land of Israel would render it al- 
most impossible to continue in harvest from morning 
to night, exposed, without a shelter, to the beams of 
the sun. Ruth had spent no more time under covert, 
than was absolutely necessary for enabling her to re- 
turn to her labours. Some of the most ancient trans- 
lations differ from our copies of the Bible, and say 
that she had continued all day at her labour, without 
returning to her house, or enjoying any rest. She was 
a true daughter of Jacob, who was so careful of the* 



€h. ii. 5, — 14,] of ruth. iOi 

flocks committed to him, that, without repining, he 
suffered himself to be consumed in the day-time by 
the heat, and in the night to be pierced by the chil- 
ling frosts. 

" It is vain to rise up early and sit up late, to eat 
the bread of sorrows." We ought to consult our 
health in carrying on our labours, and not to make 
them a burden too heavy for us to bear. When co- 
vetous desires of gain induce men to overwork their 
powers, they sacrifice their health to Mammon, whom 
they have chosen for their God. But Ruth was la- 
bouring for her mother as well as herself. Her love 
to Naomi would give her spirits and strength to en- 
dure the heat of the climate. A reaper or a gleaner 
in the field, sustaining toil or inclement weather, to 
support her aged parents, is worthy of more praise 
than a victorious general, who exposes himself to all 
the perils of battle, if his chief view is to gather lau- 
rels for himself. 

Yer. 8. — Then said Boaz urito Ruth. Hearest thou 
not , my daughter ? Go not to glean in another field, 
neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my mai* 
dens. 

Boaz was glad to meet with the Moabitish damsel 
that came with Naomi. He had already, we may pre- 
sume, intended to shew her the kindness of God ; and 
now, when Providence brought her into his presence, 
he addresses her in the language of kindness, " Hear 
me, my daughter.*' Ruth had left her father and her 
mother. She lost nothing. Naomi was become her 
mother, and Boaz now speaks to her and treats her a* 
a father. We may, without hesitation, leave those re- 
lations that are dearest and kindest to us for God, 

I 2 



102 THE HISTORY [LeCt. T. 

" He that leaveth father or mother for me," says 
Christ, " shall receive an hundred fold more in this 
world, fathers and mothers, brethren and sisters/' 
That loss must be great indeed which infinite Good- 
ness cannot compensate. 

Go not to glean in another field, neither go from 
hence. This prohibition is full of love. The expres- 
sion signifies, that Boaz would take it highly amiss if 
she went to glean in any other field but his own. But it 
Implies a promise, that she should find it her interest 
to glean in his field. The tenderest love may be 
expressed in the language of command, of prohibi- 
tion, or even of threatening. Many of God's com- 
mandments and prohibitions are expressions of his 
excellent loving kindness. What can be more full of 
grace than the first, commandment of the moral law,. 
^ Thou shall have no other gods before me ?" or Ho- 
»$ea's comment upon it, u I am the Lord thy God from 
the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no God but 
me, for there is no Saviour besides me ?" When God 
commands us to trust in himself alone, and threatens 
us with his displeasure if we place our confidence any 
where else, does he not tell us that we shall find it ou£ 
highest interest to trust in him t 

Abide, fast by my maidens. Young women, if the^ 
are wise, will ordinarily chuse their companions from 
amongst their own sex. Ruth was a modest woman, 
and would be glad to find a virtuous woman with 
whom she might associate in the field of Boaz. There 
were men employed with them in the labours of the 
harvest, but Ruth had nothing to apprehend eithes 
j'rora the male or female servants of this good ma% 
Trho ruled his family in the fear of the Lord* 



Ch. ii. 5, — 14.] of ruth- 103 

Ver. 9. — Let thine eyes be on the field that they d<? 
reap, and go thou after them, have I not charged the 
young men that they shall not touch thee ? and zvhen 
thou art at hirst, go unto the vessels and drink of that 
which the young men have drawn. 

Whilst Ruth was to keep by the young women, and 
go after them, she had no reason to dread the young 
men. Young men, in any station of life, are often, 
by their rudeness or licentiousness, the terror of mo- 
dest young women ; but Boaz would allow of no inde~ 
cency in words or conversation amongst his servants* 
A good man will not only refrain from doing or speak- 
ing evil, but will restrain all that depend on him 
from licentious or rude behaviour. Paul will have 
none to be admitted to the office of elders in the 
church, who do not rule well their own houses. Not 
that it is a duty incumbent on elders only to keep 
their families in due subjection, but because elders 
must be exemplary in every thing worthy of praise* 
We are all accountable for those evils which it wa§ 
in our power to have prevented. 

Have not I charged the young men f says Boaz to 
Ruth. He knew the heart of a stranger. She might 
think that she stood exposed, as a sojourner from Mo- 
ab, to those insults to which a stranger from Israel 
might be exposed in her own country. u We have 
heard of the pride of Moab. He was exceeding 
proud •/' and, as wickedness proceedeth from the 
wicked, insolence and abusive treatment maj be ex- 
pected from the proud. But if Ruth had any fears of 
this kind, Boaz puts an end to them. It is an office 
q( humanity to comfort those that are cast down, and 
to dispel QYery uneasy apprehension from the modest 



I&4 THE HISTORY [Lect. 7* 

and timorous. A man of sensibility knows, in some 
measure, what is passing within the breast of his poor 
neighbour, and will, by his words, uphold him that is 
falling, and confirm the feeble knees. 

We do not live in a country so fruitful as the land of 
Israel. Our fields are not like the fields of Bethle- 
hem or Ephratah, which received their names from 
the fruitfulness of the soil. Yet every place has its 
advantages, as well as its disadvantages* We are 
better stored with water than that land which flowed 
with milk and honey. It was no small favour to Ruth, 
that Boaz invited her, whenever she was thirsty, to go 
and drink of the water which his young men had 
drawn. Thirst would sometimes be almost intolera- 
ble to labourers in the field under the scorching heat 
of the sun in Palestine. When Ruth felt the heat of 
noon, she might say, as one of her descendents did 
on another occasion, u O that one would give me to 
drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem !" But 
her wishes are prevented. Her considerate friend 
gives her a general invitation to drink whenever she 
found it necessary, of the water provided for his own 
servants ; or, if they had any thing better than water 
to quench their thirst, she was welcome to a share. 

Ver. 10. — Then she fell on her face, and bowedher- 
self to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I 
found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldst take know- 
ledge of me, seeing I am a stranger ? 

What had Boaz done for Ruth that she falls down 
on her knees, and thanks him for his favours in lan- 
guage expressive of such warm gratitude ? He had 
assured her of his protection. He had invited her to 
gather the gleanings of his corn, and to drink of his 



Ch. ii. 5,-14.3 of ruth. 103 

water, What would she have said had he invited 
her to partake, as he afterwards did. of all his wealth? 
And what thanks do we give to Him who invites us 
to come and buy wine and milk from him, withou* 
money and without price '?_ Boaz made Ruth welcome 
to drink of the water of one of the wells of Bethle- 
hem. Jesus says, i; If thou knewest the gift of God, 
and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, 
thou wouldst ask, and he would give thee living wa- 
ter, the water of which, when a man drinks, he skalL 
thirst no more.*' 

Ruth thought herself greatly honoured by the at> 
tentions of Boaz. She was a stranger and foreigner, 
an alien to the commonwealth of Israel, and did not 
reckon herself entitled to any kindness from the peo- 
ple of the Lord. Perhaps she did not yet know how 
kindly the laws of Israel required them to treat stran- 
gers. The children of Israel had themselves been 
strangers for many generations in the land of Egypt, 
and were required to shew that kindness to strangers 
which they would have gladly received from the peo- 
ple amongst whom they sojourned. Boaz, above all 
other Israelites at that time, might be expected to 
treat foreign women with favour ; for his own mothep 
had been not only a stranger, but one of the accursed 
nation of Canaan ; and yet there was not an Israeli- 
toss entitled to more respect, for she was famous, and 
deserved to be famous to all generations, both for hes 5 
faith and her good works. 

Most men and women entertain too high notions of 
themselves, because they think with complacency on 
those qualities that seem to entitle them to considera- 
tion, but overlook those which diminish their own va- 



1©S THE HISTORY [Led. 7v 

]ue. Ruth almost forgot her own virtues. She thought 
she had done no more than it was her duty to do, if 
she did so much, when she attended Naomi into the 
land of Israel 5 but she remembered that she was a 
stranger, that she had been hitherto a worshipper of 
strange gods, and might have continued so till the 
end of her life, if God had not sent some of his peo- 
ple to guide her feet into the way of truth. 

Remembering what she had been, she received or- 
dinary favours with a warm sense of gratitude. The 
humble are always disposed to be thankful, and there- 
fore they are always happy. When men are swelled 
with such a sense of their own merit, that they think 
themselves entitled to every thing, they will never be 
pleased. If you give them small presents, they will 
think you defraud them of their due, because you do 
not give them rich presents ; if you give them rich pre- 
sents, they think that they are entitled to all that they 
have received, and much more. But you can scarce- 
ly displease the humble man, because he thinks any 
thing better than he deserves* He enjoys peace in 
his own bosom, because his expectations are seldom 
disappointed. He acquires the good-will of all around 
him, because he is thankful for the smallest favours^ 
and not dissatisfied when he meets with none. 

Ver. 11. — And Boaz anszvered aid said unto her. 
It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done 
unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband, 
and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and 
the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people- 
which thou knezvest not heretofore* 

" Let another praise thee, and not thyself." Ruth 
ahcwed no disposition to praise herself. She did not 



Ch. ii. -5, — 14.] %? ruth, lOf 

elaim a right to glean from what she had done for 
Naomi, but wondered that -such kindness should be 

showed by Boaz to hei v. ho was a stranger: and she 
heart ihe \ oice oi praise from the mouth of one whose 
commendations were a very great honour. No say*- 

ing fl?as opener in the mouth of Jesus than this. ; * He 
that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that 
bleth himself shall be exalted." 5 

Nothing can be meaner than Battery addressed ei- 
ther to the rich or poor, but it may frequently be 
proper to praise those who deserve to be praised. 
Oar Lord praises his disciples, when he tells them 
that they were the men who had continued with him 
in his temptations. Paul often commends the Chris- 
tian^ to whom he wrote his epistles, although he never 
failed to remind them that they were indebted to the 
grace of God for all that was worthy of praise in their 
conduct or temper. Boaz commended Ruth, not to 
inspire her with vanity, but to animate her resolution, 
+ o comfort her dejected spirit, and to encourage her 
to use those freedoms which he wished her to use with 
himself, and with other Israelites. 

i; It hath been fully made known to me what thou 
-hast done to thy mother-in-law. *' Ruth little expect- 
ed that her behaviour would be reported to any great 
man in the land of Israel. She did no more than she 
apprehended to be her duty to such a kind and pious 
mother-in-law. If her behaviour pleased God. and 
her own conscience, and Naomi, she was well satis- 
fied, although no other person ever heard of it. As 
some men's sins are open, going before-hand unto 
judgment, so are the good works of others. " Take 
fieed/' says our Lord, ; - of the leaven of the Phari- 



108 THE HISTORY [Lect« "?• 

sees, which is hypocrisy ; for there is nothing cover* 
ed that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not 
be known." Although we are not to do our works 
to be seen or to be reported by men, yet we ought to 
provide things honest in the sight of all men that see 9 
or that may hear of our behaviour. Our works will 
all be known at the last day, and more of them, per- 
haps, than we think, before the last day. Let us be- 
ware of any thing in private, that would dishonour 
our name and our profession if it were known to the 
world. Ruth found, at this conference with Roaz ; 
the truth of what one of her descendents teaches us, 
that " a good name is better than precious ointment, 
and loving favour better than silver and gold." 

It hath been fully shezoed me all that thou hast done 
unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband* 
Many who are connected by affinity, think that no 
more duties remain to be performed, when the bond 
of connection is broken, by the death of that husband 
or wife on whom the relation depended. Naomi and 
Ruth were of a different spirit. Naomi never could 
forget Ruth's kindness to her son. Ruth testified her 
regard to the memory of her deceased husband, by 
her attentions to his mother. She not only did " good 5 
and not evil," to her husband, " all the days of his 
life," but she did all the good she could to him w T hen 
he was dead, by performing those services to his mo- 
ther which he would gladly have performed, if he had 
been still alive. This part of her behaviour endear- 
ed her to Boaz. He was charmed with the amiable 
manners of Ruth, and thought himself highly indebt- 
ed to her for her goodness to the mother of his friend 
Mahlon. The apostle John testified his affection to 



€h. ii. 5, — 14.] *f ltvf M. H9 

his departed Lord, by taking his mother to his own 
house, and treating her as a mother. There are 
kindnesses due to the dead as well as to the living ; 
and in these, a generous spirit will be careful not to 
fail. 

Ver. 12. — The Lord recompense iky work, and a 
full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel \ 
:'}ider zuhose wings thou art come to (rust. 

Ruth's kind and good behaviour to her mother-in- 
law deserved much praise, but there w r as another part 
of her behaviour entitled to still hio-her commenda- 
fion. She came to trust under the wings of the Lord 
God of Israel. Her humanity was consecrated by 
piety, her kindness to her friends was sanctified by 
her faith in God. Those labours of love are truly 
acceptable to God, which proceed from a regard to 
his own name, Heb. vi. 10. 

The living God was exhibited to the faith of his 
ancient people, as the God who dwelt between the 
cherubims that spread their wings over the mercy- 
seat, the throne of his grace. It was perhaps in al- 
lusion to this symbol of God's residence amongst his 
people, that those who sought protection from him 
were said to trust under the shadow of his wings. 
" He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most 
High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
His feathers shall cover thee ; under his wings shalt 
thou trust : his faithfulness shall be thy" shield and 
buckler*" 

By a figure less elevated, but not less significant 
and consolatory, our Lord teaches us the happiness 
of them that trust in him, and the riches of his own 
grace and condescension. u How often would I have 

K 



lid THE HISTORY [Lect. 7* 

gathered thee, as an hen gathereth her chickens un- 
x3er her wings!" 

Ruth came to trust under the wings of the Lord 
God of Israel. She had heard of him in her own 
country, and left it to dwell in another where he was 
well known, and where he gave his people signal 
proofs of his protection. The name of the Lord was 
so dear to her, that she left her kindred, and her fa- 
ther's house, to enjoy a place amongst his people. 
How inexcusable are we, if w r e do not make the Lord 
our refuge, when w r e were born in a land blessed with 
the knowledge of him, baptised in his name, and 
trained up to know and serve him ! If a Moabitess 
came to trust under the wings of the Lord God of Is- 
rael, how shameful was it in Israelites not to know 
and trust the God by whose name they were called ? 
And " is he the God of the Jews only ? is he not the 
God of the Gentiles also,"' who justifies the uncir« 
eumcision through the same faith in Christ by which 
he justified the circumcision ? 

The Lord recompense thy work, and a full recom- 
pense be given thee of the Lord God of Israel* The 
Lord God of Israel is the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, in whom he is w T ell pleased. Through 
him he accepts our persons, through him he accepts 
our works, and records them with testimonies of his 
favour worthy of his rich grace. Our best works have 
no merit in them. We are but unprofitable servants 
when we have done all that is commanded us ; but 
we serve a liberal Master, who takes pleasure in 
uprightness, and beholds our meanest endeavours to 
serve him with a pleasant countenance. 

Those acts of kindness which we perform to men 



Ch. ii. 5,— 14.] of ruth, 111 

with no higher views than their or our own advantage, 
cannot be accepted of God as services to himself. 
When no regard is entertained for his will and his 
glory, there is an essential defect in our performan* 
ces. If men are the highest object of our regard in 
the good things we do, from men let us expect our 
reward ; but God is not unrighteous, to forget our 
works and labours of love done for the name of Christ, 
He will reward them above what we can ask or think, 

Boaz prays to God for the gracious reward of her 
works of love, and by his prayer encouraged her to 
persevere in that confidence which w r as to be crowned 
with a full recompense. " Cast not away your con- 
fidence," says Paul, " which hath great recompense 
of reward." To have respect to the recompense of 
reward, was not unworthy of the faith of Moses, or 
-even of the faith of Christ himself, " who, for the joy 
that was set before him, endured the cross, despising 
the shame." 

" It is our desire," says the apostle, " that whether 
present or absent, we may be accepted of him." 
And we desire not only that our own works, but that 
the good works of our friends and brethren may be 
rewarded. Boaz intended to reward the work of 
Ruth by his own generous treatment of her, but great 
as his power was, her good works went beyond it. 
The rewards that the richest and greatest men can 
confer for services done to themselves or to their 
friends, are not to be compared with the gracious re- 
wards bestowed by God on the meanest of his ser- 
vants, for the meanest service. " Whosoever," say$ 
cur Lord Jesus Christ, " bestows but a cup of watcF 



I1& the history £Leet. ?» 

en a disciple in the name of a disciple, shall in no 
wise lose his reward." 

Ver. 13. — Then she said, Let me find favour in thy 
sight, my lord / for that thou hast comforted me, and 
for thai thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid^ 
though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. 

Ruth was so far from thinking herself entitled td 
any recompense from God, that she thought it an act 
of unmerited goodness in Boaz to take any notice of 
her. The Lord hath respect to the lowly, and he 
usually gives them favour in the sight of men also. 
Ruth did not reckon herself like one of the hand* 
maidens of Boaz, and Boaz thought her worthy of his 
bed. Happy are they who are disposed to think 
their neighbours better than themselves. They are 
free from those stings of discontent- and envy which 
torture the hearts of the vain and proud. They pre- 
serve themselves from those variances and strifes 
which are the bane of social life. They endear them- 
selves to those with whom they are connected in soci- 
ety. They procure many favours and kindnesses 
which are doubly pleasant to them, because they did 
Dot think themselves entitled to them. " By hu- 
mility, and the fear of the Lord, are riches, and 
honour, and life.' 5 

" Let me find grace in thy sight, my lord ; for that 
thou hast comforted me, and hast spoken friendly un- 
to thine handmaid." Pleasant words are like an 
honey-comb, sweet to the soul. Those words which 
at once indicate friendship and nourish piety, are 
doubly pleasant. Boaz had not only expressed his 
affection and esteem to Ruth, but raised her views to 
the Lord God of Israel, from whom he encouraged 



Oh.H. 5.— 14.] qt mm* US 

her to expect her reward. His words were no less 
valued by her than his gifts. Words are cheap to 
ourselves, and they may be very precious to those to 
whom they are addressed, especially to those who 
need our sympathy. Job^ by his words, instructed 
many, and strengthened the weak hands. Let us 
follow his example, but remember that we ought to 
do it, not only in the words of our mouth, but in the 
temper of our minds and in the works of our hands. 
We must " love, not in word and in tongue only, 
but in deed and in truth." Such was the love of Bo- 
az to Ruth. Such is the love of all the followers of 
Him who loved us and gave himself for us. 

Ver. 14. — And Boaz said unto her, At meal- time 
tome thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy mor- 
sel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers; 
and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and 
teas sufficed, and left. 

All that Ruth expected or requested, was leave to 
glean ; but she was invited, when she was labouring 
for herself, to eat of the master's bread, and to dip he? 
morsel in the vinegar provided for the reapers.. In 
the house of Boaz, there was bread enough, and to 
spare. His reapers were not so stinted in their pro- 
vision, as to have nothing to afford to an unexpected 
visitant. Boaz was none of those men who say, 
H Shall I take my bread and my water, which I have 
provided for my shearers," or my bread and vinegar 
which I have provided for my reapers, and give them 
to a stranger ? He had a large estate, and a large 
heart. He truly enjoyed the liberalities of Provi- 
dence, because he took pleasure in distributing what 
God had given him. 

K2 



J 14 THE HISTOEY [Lect. 7. 

Boaz was not ashamed to eat his morsel with his 
reapers. He made them happy in his company, and 
himself happy, by diffusing cheerfulness around him. 
We must not judge of Boaz by those laws and cus- 
toms of society, which regulate the behaviour of such 
as do not wish to appear singular amongst ourselves. 

He gave to Ruth of the parched corn with his own 
hands, and she did eat and was sufficed. Ruth won- 
dered at his goodness to her who was a stranger, and 
not like one of his own handmaidens ; but she was 
not happier in receiving than Boaz in giving, since 
our Lord spake truth when he said> " It is more bles- 
sed to give than to receive." 

Let us do good to all men, especially to them that 
^re of the household of faith, and most of all to those 
of the household of faith who stand in greatest need of 
©ur kindness, to whom we are bound by particular 
connections to shew our friendship* and to those who 
are most disposed to be thankful to God and man for 
the favours they receive. At the day of judgment we 
will find, that every office of love performed to the 
meanest of the followers of Christ, has been per^ 
J&rraed t© himself, 



Ch. ii. 15, — 23. J' of ruth* 115 



LECTURE VIII. 



Chap. ii. 1 5,-23. 

Ver. 15. — And when she was risen up to glean, Bo» 
az commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean, 
even among the sheaves, and reproach her not. 

" IN the sweat of thy face," said God to fallen 
man, " thou shalt eat bread." For our sins we must 
toil ; but, through the mercy of God, our toil is sweet* 
ened by intervals of rest and of refreshment from food 
and sleep. Ruth eats her meal, and then rises to 
glean till the evening, when she goes home to enjoy 
the rest and sleep of the night, made doubly pleasant 
to her by the labours of the day. Let not labourers 
complain, but let them confess, that the toils they en- 
dure are too well deserved, and let them bless God 
that their days do not pass on in an uninterrupted 
labour. 

" She rose up to glean." In the morning she came 
with, perhaps, an anxious mind to the field, uncer- 
tain what reception she might meet with, either 
from the master of the field, or from his servants. 
She rose to her new labours with pleasure, when she 
found herself not only allowed to glean, but commend- 
ed for her virtuous conduct, and recommended to the 
snercy of the God whom she came to serve, by the 
prayers of such a venerable man as Boaz. Let us 
hold the path of duty, whatever it is. If it is attends 



116 THE HISTQRY [Lect. 8, 

ed with toils and anxieties, comforts will spring up 
when we are not expecting them, to solace our la- 
bours* 

Boaz did every thing that he promised to Ruth f 
and more than he promised. He gave a charge to 
his young men to suffer her to glean among the 
sheaves, and forbade them to reproach her for her 
country, her poverty, her mean occupation ; or to in- 
sinuate any suspicions of her honesty, whilst she was 
gleaning among the sheaves. 

The permission of gleaning among the sheaves 
would not have been granted to Ruth, if her charac- 
ter had not raised her above suspicion. Are you 
poor ? take care to avoid every appearance of dis- 
honesty. A good character is the estate of the 
poor. A reputation for honesty will procure you cm* 
ployment and bread. Are you rich ? do not cause- 
lessly suspect the poor, that you may not deprive 
them of that which is no less valuable to them than 
to yourselves— a good name. It is of more impor- 
tance to them than to you, because their subsistence 
depends upon it. Why should you deprive your 
indigent brother of his only resource ? 

Reproach her not, said Boaz to his servants. Ill- 
taught servants are too often disposed to sport with 
the feelings or the character of strangers, or of their 
own indigent countrymen. Why should they who 
are themselves in a dependent condition, add to the 
distress of those who are still lower in condition than 
themselves ? It affords them amusement, perhaps, to 
make those uneasy who cannot avenge themselves ; 
but would it not give them more pleasure to alleviate 
distress by words of kindness 3 than to aggravate it 



<?h. ii. to, — 23.] of ruth* 117 

by scorn and petulence ? Is it more pleasant to us to 
make our poor neighbours unhappy, than to gladden 
their hearts ? How then dwelleth the love of God 
in us ? 

Yer. 16. — And let fall' also some of the handfuls 
ef purpose for her, and leave them, that she ma u glean 
them, and rebuke her not* 

Why did not the good man rather make her a pre- 
sent at once out of his floor and wine-press, than order 
handfuls of barley to be dropt for her gleaning ? He 
delighted to behold her industry, and wished to en- 
courage it. Charity, wisely directed, will not tempt 
the poor to be idle. Habitual idleness is not consis- 
tent either with virtue or happiness. 

"Leave handfuls on purpose for her.' 1 The ser- 
vants of Boaz could not have left handfuls to be glean- 
ed by the poorest person in the country, without dis- 
honesty, unless their master had commanded them. 
When they received commandment, it would have 
been dishonest not to have done it. The Lord, who 
hates robbery for burnt-offering, will not allow ser- 
vants in great houses to give away what is not theirs 
to the poor. They must have the permission of their 
masters or mistresses to do good to the poor, unless 
they do it at their own expense ; and, having received 
this permission, it would be injurious both to the poor 
aad to their masters, to withhold what is allotted to 
those who need. 

And rebuke her not* Boaz was very careful to pre- 
vent any insult from being offered to the virtuous stran- 
ger. He no doubt knew, that masters were in some 
degree accountable for the conduct oi their servants. 



US TOT HISTORY Lk eG ^ *• 

and that they shared in the guilt of those faults -which 
they did not care to prevent or to correct* 

Rebuke her not, as if she used too much freedom. 
Wound not her feelings, by reproaches of that pover- 
ty which I wish to relieve. God gives liberally, 
and upbraids not. Let us be followers of him as dear 
children. 

Ver. 17.— So she gleaned hi the field until even, and 
heat out that she had gleaned ; and it was about an 
ephah of barley.. 

" Man goeth forth to his labour, until the even- 
ing." The day is the season of labour, and the 
night of repose for our race, except that part of man- 
kind who chuse rather to follow the example of the 
beasts of prey, whose season of action and enjoy- 
ment is the night, because their works must be in th.£ 
dark. 

When you are fatigued with the labours of the day, 
consider that the night is not far distant, when you 
may hope to enjoy that delicious sleep, which is al* 
most a recompense for your toils. Idle men, though 
they feed upon dainties, toss upon their beds from 
night till morning ; but " the sleep of the labouring 
man is sweet, whether he eat little or much." Ruth 
bo doubt longed to see Naomi after her conversation 
with Boaz, that she might gladden the heart of her 
beloved mother, and pour her own grateful sensa- 
tions into her bosom. But there is a time for go- 
ing forth to labour, and a time for returning from la- 
bour, and the wise will endeavour to do every thing 
in its proper season. Their reason, and not the im- 
pulse of the moment, will regulate their hours. 

" In the evening, she beat out that she had glean* 



C!h. ii. 15, — 23.] qf ruth. 119 

ed, and it was about an ephah of barley ;" about a 
firlot of our measure. The Lord blessed her indus- 
try, by disposing Boaz to shew kindness to her. La- 
bourers are not ordinarily lo expect such uncommon 
interpositions of Providence in their favour : but when 
they are able, by their industry, to procure the ne- 
cessaries, and a few of the comforts of life for them- 
selves, and for their beloved relations, it will be ow- 
ing to their own thankless dispositions if they are not 
happy. If riches were necessary to happiness, the 
Almighty must have doomed to misery the greatest 
part of mankind. But we are the makersvof our own 
misery, when we prescribe to the Most High what he 
shall do for us. 

Ver. 18. — And she took it wp, and went into the 
city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned / 
and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had re* 
served after she was sufficed* 

It is no less necessary to be careful of the fruit of 
our labours, than to labour with diligence. Christ 
himself, who could multiply bread at his pleasure, 
commanded the fragments of the barley loaves and 
fishes to be gathered up, that nothing might be lost. 
" In all labour there is profit,'- says the wise man ; 
yet there are some that labour for the wind. They 
lose what they have wrought, because they suffer it, 
through their carelessness, to slip through their fin- 
gers. This folly, however, is much less frequent in 
things relating to the body, than in those which re- 
late to the soul. There is a greater number of per- 
sons who deserve reprehension for immoderate solici- 
tude to secure their property, than of that slothful 
generation who will not be at the trouble of roasting 



120 the history £Lect. 8. 

what they have taken in hunting, or of carrying home 
what they have reaped in the fields. Yet some need 
admonition to manage their worldly affairs with dis- 
cretion ; but it is far more needful to be careful that 
we lose none of those things which we have wrought 
in the service of God, for the benefit of our souls, but 
that we receive a full reward. 

Her moiher-in-iazv saw, and saw with joy, what she 
had gleaned. Doubtless, it was a feast to the heart of 
Ruth to observe the pleasure which brightened Nao- 
mi's countenance, when she saw how God had bles- 
sed her industry. Young persons, be industrious, 
frugal, virtuous, if you desire to give pleasure to the 
father that begat you, and to her that bare you. In 
their declining years they need such comfort. If you 
withhold it, the time will come when the pain which 
you gave them will be doubled to yourselves. 

And she brought forth, and gave io her that she had 
reserved after she was sufficed* When Boaz gave her 
a liberal portion of the food prepared for himself and 
his reapers, it was not expected that what she left 
should be returned, but it was to be carried home 
for future use ; and now she brought it forth for the 
use of Naomi, between whom and Ruth every thing 
was common* The poor stranger had now, by the 
blessing of God, and the kindness of Boaz, bread 
enough and to spare. Happy changes can soon be ef- 
fected by the good providence of God, in that condition 
which appeared forlorn. " The Lord giveth food to 
the hungry," and he gives it in such quantities, and 
of such a kind, and in such ways as he pleases, 
" Those who trust in him, and do good, shall dwell 
in the land, and verily they shall be fed.' 1 



tDh. ii. IS, — 23.] ©f ruth-. 

Ver. 19* — And her mother -in-law said unit 
Where hast 4hou gleaned to day? and where wrought- 
est thou ? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. 
And she shewed her mother-in-law with whom she had 
wrought, and said. The man's name with w-Jiom I 
wrought to-day i-s Boaz. 

The friendly converse of -those -members of a fami« 
ly, whose hearts are knit together in love, affords a 
pleasure which sweetens a dinner of green herbs, and 
renders it mom delicious to the taste, than "a stalled 
qx, where love is wanting." Naomi asks of Ruth 
where she had wrought, that she might have the plea- 
sure of knowing who the friendly man was that had 
taken knowledge of her beloved daughter. Ruth had 
no reason to conceal that kindness which had been 
shewed her beyond her expectation. They enjoyed 
the feast of friendship, and th€ flow of soul, with a 
keener relish than the grayest and wealthiest domestic 
circle in Bethlehem. 

Blessed be he that did, take knowledge of thee. Na- 
omi desired to know where Ruth had wrought, that 
she might know her benefactor, and make such re- 
compenses to him as w r ere in her power, by prayer to 
God on his behalf. Before she knows his name, she 
prays for blessings to him. Her heart overflowed 
with gratitude, and out of the abundance of her heart 
her mouth spake. This is one reason why we ought 
to do good to those especially who are of the house- 
hold of faith. They are all praying persons, and 
their prayers are heard by the God who loves them. 
" He is a prophet, v said God to Abimelech, concern- 
ing Abraham, " he is a prophet, and he shall pray for 
thee/ 5 Abimelech thought his presents weii bc- 

L 



122 TUB HISTORY [Lec't* 8* 

stowed upon a man who could pray for him with ac- 
ceptance. But, through the name of Christ, all be- 
lievers, though they are not prophets, have confi- 
dence towards God; " for whatsoever," says our Re- 
deemer, " ye ask in my name, I will do it for you." 

Naomi was told that the man^s name was Boaz, and 
immediately called to mind what kindnesses her fami- 
ly had received from him ia times past. 

Ver. 20. — And Naomi said unto her daughter-in- 
law* Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not J eft off 
his kindness io the living and to the dead. And Nao- 
mi said unto her. The man is near of kin unto us, one 
of our next kinsmen. 

Blessed be he of the Lord. Naomi had already 
prayed for a blessing upon him, without knowing who 
he was ; and she prays ag&in for a blessing to him 
from the Lord, when his name was mentioned. It 
put her in mind of former favours^ which she had not 
forgotten, although her distresses, engrossing her mind, 
had hindered her from thinking of them. A grateful 
heart will never forget kindnesses received from men, 
far less will a truly thankful soul forget the former 
loving-kindnesses of the Lord. u Bless the Lord, O 
my soul ; forget not any of his benefits." 

He hath not left off his kindness to the living and to 
the dead. He had been a steady friend to Elimelech 
and Mahlon, and he still continued a firm friend to 
Elimeleclrs widow, to the mother and relict of Mah- 
Ion. Nothing is more common in the world than fickle- 
ness in friendship ; but that man only deserves the 
name of a friend, who loveth at all times, in adversi- 
ty as well as in prosperity, in death as well as in life* 
We sin against God, as well as against men, when we 



Ch. ii. IS, — 23.] of- ruth, 12$ 

causelessly forsake our own or our father's friend. 
All our professions and promises are marked in his 
book. 

One great cause of our grief for the death of our 
friends is, that they are f emoved beyond the reach 
of our kindness. But they are not wholly incapable 
of receiving testimonies of our friendship, if they have 
left beloved relations behind them, to whom we can 
shew our regard. David could recompense Jona- 
than's kindness to himself, when his generous friend 
was in heaven with the angels of God. Although our 
Lord left our world almost eighteen hundred years 
ago, we can still testify our love to him by our kind* 
Bess to his brethren and sisters on earth. 

" Blessed be he of the Lord ; for he hath not left 
off his kindness to the living and to the dead." Na- 
omi could not reward Boaz, but she knew who could 
and would reward every act of kindness done to her* 
Her prayers to God for Boaz were worth more than 
all that it was either in his heart or in his power to do 
for her. 

And Naomi said. The man is near of kin unto u? 9 
one of our next kinsmen. The relation in which Boaz 
stood to Mahlon was probably one of the reasons that 
induced him to be so kind to Ruth. God hath made 
of one blood all rations of men, and therefore we 
ought to look upon all human creatures as our breth- 
ren and sisters, the children of the same common pro- 
genitors, by the ordination of their common Crea- 
tor. But those who are related to us by immediate 
parents, or by progenitors not far removed from us, 
have a special claim to our kindness, " A brother is 
born for adversity,' 5 



124 THE HISTORY [Lect. 9* 

Yet the poor ought not to make themselves bur- 
densome or troublesome to their prosperous relations. 
Naomi sought nothing from Boaz, and, till this time, 
does not seem to have expected new favours from 
him. He had formerly been kind, and she did not 
wish to tax his goodness by applications for new fa- 
vours. God is never weary of conferring his bles- 
sings. Those petitioners are most welcome to him 
that come most frequently, and ask most importunate- 
ly. But the richest of men may soon be impoverish- 
ed, and the most bountiful may soon be wearied, by 
giving. 

Paul thanked God in the behalf of the Philippiam 
Christians, that their care of him had flourished afresh. 
Naomi considers it as a token for good, that the care 
of Boaz for her family was now again flourishing and 
bringing forth fruit. With joy she informs Ruth, that 
the man whose kindness so deeply affected her, was 
a near relation. What might they not expect from a 
near relation so rich and so kind ? What may we not 
expect from him who, being in the form of God 9 
made himself our near kinsman-^ that he might redeem 
us to God ? 

Ver. 21. — And Ruth, the Moahitess said, He said 
unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young mtn 9 
until they have ended all my harvest. 

Grateful souls take pleasure in hearing and in 
speaking of their benefactors, and of the favours which 
have been done or promised them. How constantly 
ought we to remember, and how ready should we be 
to speak of, the mercies of God ! He hath done great 
things for us, and giveth us every encouragement to 
hope that he will still grant us all that is good for us* 



Ch. ii. 15. — 23.] of ruth. 125 

Ver. 22. — And Naomi said unto Ruth, her daugh- 
ter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out 
with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other 
field. 

Naomi asked Ruth where she had been, and de- 
sired particular information of the treatment she had 
met with, that she might give her such advice as might 
be useful for the direction of her future conduct. Old 
persons may be expected to have collected, by reflec- 
tion and experience, more wisdom than the young, 
and should be ready to communicate instruction to 
those that need it. An ostentatious display of their 
acquirements, where it can be of no use, or where 
there is no disposition to profit by them, would only 
expose them to contempt. But they hide their talents 
in a napkin if they do not make those wiser by what 
they know, who are disposed to learn, and those es- 
pecially whom divine Providence hath placed under 
their care. Young persons, on their side, should be 
ever ready to listen to the instructions of the aged, 
and especially of aged parents, or relations that stand 
in the place of parents. Ruth profited much by the 
instructions and advices of Naomi ; and it was one of 
the great comforts of Naomi's declining years, that 
she could be useful to Ruth, by giving her the coun- 
sels of experience. Let the young have their hands 
prepared for the service of the old, and the old may 
recompense them abundantly by the words of their 
mouths. Happy would it have been for Rehohoam, 
and for all his people, had he known what respect is 
due to the wise counsels of the aged. What numbers 
of young persons take rash steps in the journey oi 
life, which cannot be retraced, because they rather 

L2 



128 THE HISTORY [Lect. g| 

ehuse to follow the impulse of their own passions, than 
to ask and follow the advices of those who brought 
them into the world. 

It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his 
maute'ns* Ruth had said that Boaz invited her to 
kev t. fast by his young men, Naomi perhaps meant 
to insinuate in this advice, that, while she accepted 
the invitation, she ought to consider the maidens as 
her best companions. She was not bound to avoid 
all intercourse with the young men. Boaz had taken 
care that none of them should behave rudely to her ; 
but her chosen companions were to be of her own 
sex. Ruth needed little admonition on this subject* 
Boaz observes, to her praise, that she had not follow- 
ed young men, whether poor or rich. 

" It is good that thou go forth w r ith his maidens,'* 
since he invites thee to glean in his fields. Although 
Naomi would not be troublesome to her relations, nor 
solicit favours from them when necessity did not com- 
pel her, she was not so high-minded as to reject a fa- 
vour that was offered. Poor persons, who have seen 
better days, are sometimes too nice and scrupulous 
in receiving obligations. It is good to be as inde- 
pendent in the world as our circumstances will allow ; 
but to be absolutely independent is impossible : and 
to have a spirit above the acceptance of favours, when 
our circumstances render the acceptance of them need- 
ful, is a proud resistance of our spirits to that Provi- 
dence which manages our concerns, and which mana- 
ges them with wisdom and kindness when it lays our 
pride in the dust. 

That they meet thee not in any other field* If they 
had met Ruth in any other field, their master might 



Gh. ii. 15, — 23.] op ruth. 12? 

have been offended to find that his bounty was under- 
valued, or his sincerity distrusted, or that his kins- 
woman chose rather to receive obligations from an- 
other than from himself. A generous man takes plea* 
sure in being trusted. Nothing will more displease 
him than want of confidence in his kindness and pro- 
fessions. 

If we ought to express our gratitude to earthly 
benefactors, by shewing a readiness to be obliged to 
them, and a firm confidence in their favour, how readi- 
ly ought we to accept of the precious gifts of God ? 
and how ungrateful is it to act as if his gracious pro* 
fessions and promises were unworthy of our trust ! Is 
not the saying, that u Christ Jesus came into the world, 
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation ?" 
Why then does any of us refuse, with thankfulness, to 
receive his unspeakable gift ? Or why should we be 
found vainly searching amongst creatures for what is 
to be found only in God ? 

Ver. 23. — So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz y 
to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat har- 
vest, and dwelt with her mother-in law. 

Her mother-in-law's word was a law to her. Ac- 
cording to her advice, she gleaned in the field of Bo* 
az, and associated with his maidens. Obedience t# 
parents, is obedience to Him who says, " Honour thy 
father and thy mother. 1 ' We will, however, soon 
have occasion to observe, that there are limits to be 
»et to this obedience. God must in all things be obey- 
ed. The commandments and counsels of parents 
are to be followed, as far as they do not interfere with 
Ihe will of God. 

Jluth not only entered upon a course of useful; 



128 the history [Lect. 8* 

though humble industry, but she persisted in it. She 
did not weary of her mean occupation, but persisted 
in gleaning till the end both of barley and of wheat 
harvest. Her relation to Boaz did not inspire her 
with vain conceits that she was entitled to greater fa- 
vour from him than a permission to glean after his 
reapers. Such aspiring thoughts would have greatly 
impaired, or destroyed at once, her virtues, her repu- 
tation and her happiness. She was well content with 
her present low condition, and thankful for the small 
favours that were done her, and waited patiently on 
that God, under the shadow of whose wings she came 
to trust ; and, in his own time, he exalted her to pos- 
sess the fields which she now gleaned. 

And dwell with her mother-in-law. " Changes and 
war are against me," said Job. This language is not 
uncommon with those who have lost their nearest rela- 
tions and most beloved friends. But few have so 
much reason to speak this language as that patient 
sufferer. Changes in his condition robbed him of 
every comfort. Naomi was now deprived of her hus- 
band and her two sons. Ruth was deprived of her 
husband. But each of them had a kind and pleasant 
friend left in one another. Their religious converse, 
their kind attentions to one another's comfort, com- 
pensated, in a great measure, the loss of other friends. 
They were not so rich as they had once been \ but 
the goodness of Providence to them in their destitute 
circumstances, would probably give them more plea- 
sure, than the rich taste in their abundance. They 
loved one another, and dwelt together in peace and 
unity. And where virtuous love is found, pleasure is 
not absent; for "better is a dinner of green herbs, 



Ch. ii. 15, — 23.] of ruth, 1-29 

where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred there- 
with/ 5 

Many are reduced to a more solitary condition than 
Naomi. Deprived of their best friends, they have 
none else to supply their place, or none from whom 
they can derive much comfort. But let them not re- 
pine at the providence of God, whose ways are al- 
ways mercy and truth to them that love him. Al- 
though you should be forsaken by father and mother, 
by wife and children, remember that there is a Friend 
who cannot be lost. Job^s children were all destroy- 
ed. He had one near relation left, whose behaviour 
gave him pain instead of pleasure. But his spirit 
was not crushed by his afflictions ; for he knew that 
his Redeemer still lived. Seek fellowship with the 
Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and your joy 
shall be full. 1 J©hn i. 3 5 4. John xiv. 20 y 2U 



1 30 the history [TLect. 9, 



LECTURE IX. 



ItUTH, AT THE INSTIGATION OF NAOMI, LAYS HERSELF 
DOWN AT THE FEET OF BOAZ, AND REQUESTS HIM 
TO CAST HIS SKIRT OVER HER. 

Chap* iii. 1, — 9« 



Ver. I.- — Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said tin*? 
to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that 
it tnay be well with thee? 

NAOMI was happy to find Ruth so well satis- 
fied with her mean condition, but earnestly desired to 
have her placed in more comfortable circumstances. 
She was herself an old woman, and wished not, at 
her departure from this world, to leave her daughter- 
in-law friendless. Her thoughts were often employ- 
ed in consulting how she might best promote and se- 
cure the happiness of such a beloved friend. She 
had now, no doubt, given up all thought of much 
earthly comfort to herself, except what she found in 
the love of Ruth. But she was full of solicitude for 
her daughter-in-law, that she might have no tempta- 
tion to regret the sacrifice which she had made to 
herself and to her religion^ of the pleasures of her fa- 
ther's house. 



Ch. iii. 1,-9,] of ruth. 131 

Shall I not seek rest for thee, my daughter? It is 
our common practice to insist upon the duties owing 
to us from our friends, and not to give ourselves much 
trouble about what we owe to them. There are some 
parents so foolish as to think that their children owe 
€very thing to them, and that they owe nothing to 
their children. For this reason, they are full of com- 
plaints concerning their children's undutiful beha- 
viour, when, if their consciences or their reason were 
awake, they might tell them that the fault was origi- 
nally in themselves. If they had been more attentive 
to the happiness of their children, their children, out 
of grateful affection, might probably have been dis- 
r>csed to return the obligation. 

Shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with 
thet ? For this end, Naomi wished rest for her daugh- 
ter-in-law, " that it might be well with her, 55 When 
young persons become widowers or widows, the rela- 
tions of the deceased husband or w r ife often attend more 
to their interest in the deceased, than to the happi- 
ness of the survivor, although those who have left the 
world can receive no more benefit from them ; and the 
best proof w r hich they can then give of their affection 
to the friend whom they have lost, is to shew a pro- 
per attention to the happiness and comfort of the per- 
sons dearest to them whilst they were upon the earth. 
Naomi doubtless thought, with as much regret as oth- 
er mothers do, upon her beloved son now in the grave ; 
but she did not think it would be any advantage to 
his soul, or to his memory, to keep his widow unmar- 
ried. Death dissolves the marriage relation ; and, 
at the resurrection, there will be no reclaiming of 



1312 the >iist©ky [Led. 3* 

husbands or wives that were left in this world, 
Luke xx. 

Naomi had no thoughts of marriage for herself, be- 
cause she was too old to think of it, ch. ii. ; but she 
thinks of marriage for her daughter-in-law, who was 
not yet too old to have an husband, and to entertaia 
the hope of children. Thus Paul, who advises per- 
sons in certain circumstances not to marry, or to re- 
new that nuptial bond from which they are loosed, 
gives an opposite advice to other virgins or widows. 
" The younger widows refuse," says that apostle to 
Timothy* Admit them not to those offices or trusts 
which would render marriage inconvenient, or which 
would be a temptation to them to wax v/anton in the 
unmarried state, and then to enter into marriages with 
such persons, or into marriages attended with such 
circumstances, as would bring guilt, and reproach, 
and danger upon them ; but " I will," adds he, " that 
the young women," or the younger widows, " mar- 
ry, bear children, guide the house, give none occa- 
sion to the -adversary -to speak reproachfully." 

Naomi was not one of those old women who grudge 
to the younger those comforts and advantages which 
themselves are too old to enjoy or to relish. " We 
are glad," says Paul, " when we are weak and ye 
are strong." Thus Naomi will be glad to see her be- 
loved daughter-in-law enjoying rest in the house of 
an husband, although herself was constrained by old 
age to live in perpetual solitude. Perhaps her daugh- 
ter-in-law, when married, might find it convenient to 
have her mother-in-law with her ; but if not, still Na- 
omi wished her to be happily married. The comfort 
of her daughter-in-law was chiefly in view in the ad- 



Ch. iii. I, — 9.] «f ruth* 135 

^ice she gave her. And whenever any person pre- 
tends to give an advice to another, he must lay aside 
all considerations of himself, and have in his view 
nothing but the advantage of his neighbour ; or, if he 
wishes to serve himself by his advice, let him fairly 
avow it, that he may preserve the consciousness of 
integrity. We may very honestly request a favour to 
ourselves, but we must not steal it by false pretences 
of regard to the interest of those from whom we de- 
sire it, when we have only our own in view. 

Parents, in particular, ought to have solely in view 
the happiness of their children in those advices which 
they give them about entering into the marriage state. 
They ought to consider the happiness of their chil- 
dren as their own, and to chase for sons and daugh- 
ters-in-law, not those persons who are most agreeable 
to themselves, but such as, all things considered, are 
most likely to render their own children happy. It 
is vain to hope that we shall be able to force the in- 
clinations of our children into a similarity with our 
own. Gentle persuasions and serious advices may 
frequently be of good use. Compulsion belongs, not 
to a parent, but to a tyrant. 

That it may be well with thee* An augmentation 
of happiness is that which all men and women seek 
in entering into the state of marriage. And marriage, 
contracted with due deliberation, may be reasonably 
expected to yield such happiness as earthly things 
can afibrd. " It is not good,'' said God, "that the 
man should be alone ; I will make him an help meet 
for him." It is to be remembered, however, that the 
woman made to be an help meet for him was made in 
his own image, as he was made in the ima^eofGod, 

M 



334 THE HISTORY [Led. % 

Both men and women have lost their integrity, and 
therefore married persons may expect trouble in the 
flesh. Thorns and briars have sprung up in all the 
relations and connections of life, as well as on the face 
of the ground. Yet the pleasure and advantages of 
marriage are likely to counterbalance, by many de- 
grees, the sorrows that attend it, when the parties are 
equally yoked. If we are blessed with partners re- 
newed in knowledge and holiness, after the image of 
our Creator, not only will our present comfort be 
greatly promoted, but our eternal interests likewise ; 
and we will have reason to bless God for the happy 
connection, not only during the few years that we 
may lire together upon earth, but through endless 
ages. 

If wise persons enter into this relation that it may 
be well with themselves, they will consider that their 
partners entertained the same views. We must be 
over-run With selfishness, and with a foolish kind of 
selfishness which disappoints its own views, if we 
hope to receive, without endeavouring to communi- 
cate happiness. Even an Abigail could not make 
such a churl as Nabal happy. But half her sense 
and virtue might have made a man happy, whose dis- 
positions were like her own. 

Shall I not seek rest for thee, thai it may be welt 
zoith thee ? It might serve a good purpose, if persons 
joined together in marriage would seriously consider 
these two things — whether their happiness is increas- 
ed by their change of state — and whether the happi- 
ness of their partners is increased by it. If we are 
rather miserable than happy in this connection, there 
must be a great fault on one, and probably on both 



Ch. iii. 1, — 3>.J of ruth* 135 

sides, j^or is it the less likely to be on our own side^ 
that we are disposed to lay all the blame on the other* 
Most persons might find much happiness in marriage, 
if they uniformly persisted in endeavours to do the 
duty of the relation for iheir own part, whatever their 
companions in life do, and at the same time endeav-* 
oured, to the utmost of their power, to impress re- 
ligious sentiments on the minds of their partners. 
Religion is the solid basis of morality in all its branch- 
es. " A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be 
praised," for her conjugal and other social virtues, 
as well as for her piety. 

Ver. 2, 3, 4. — And now is not Boaz of our kindred^ 
with zvhose maidens thou wast ? behold, he winnoweth 
barley to-night in the threshing floor. Wash thyself 
therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon 
thee, and get thee down to the floor ; but make not thy- 
self known wit o the man, until he shall have done eat- 
ing and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieih down, 
that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and 
thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee 
down ; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. 

Hitherto we have found nothing in Naomi's conduct 
that does not gain our approbation ; but imperfection, 
is the attendant of humanity in its present state, and 
Naomi appears, in that part of her conduct which we 
now consider, to have erred. Her views were good, 
but the means she took to accomplish them w r ere un- 
wise. They w T ere indeed followed with success ; but 
for the success we are to praise Boaz, or rather that 
gracious Providence which over-ruled ill-contrived 
means to accomplish its own ends. God, in his mer- 
cy, often prevents those errors in our conduct to whijsh 



136 toe history [Leet. 9l 

the darkness of our own minds would lead us, and of- 
ten prevents those errors into which we fall from be- 
ing attended with the pernicious consequences which 
would otherwise attend them. 

And now, is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose 
maidens thou wast ? A kinsman amongst us is a per* 
son with whom we reckon ourselves entitled to use 
gome freedom ; but, to understand the words of Nao- 
mi, we must remember that there were laws concern- 
ing kinsmen given to the Israelites, by which they 
were encouraged to expect relief from them in their 
distress. The kinsman was to be a redeemer to those 
Israelites that were in bondage. Estates sold by the 
poor, might be recovered by their interposition, and 
children might be given to the dead by the marriage 
of ■ his widow with his kinsman. Naomi knew the 
tender affection of Boaz for his kindred,, his compas- 
sion for their afflictions, his regard to the law of God. 
She believed that he needed only to be put in mind 
of the duties of a kinsman, to do every thing for Ruth 
that she could reasonably desire 5 and we are here 
told how she proceeded in this important business. 

Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the thresh- 
ing fioor. Barley must be winnowed that it may be 
used ; but will Boaz himself take part in such a mean 
employment ? What should hinder Boaz from taking 
part in it ? He lived in the days of ancient simplici- 
ty. Modern refinements and etiquette cannot give 
more pleasure to the fashionable gentleman, than ho- 
nest industry gave to this grandson of a famous prince 
of the children of Judah. We do not withhold our 
admiration from Camillas, or Fabricius, or other fa- 
mous consuls and dictators of the ancient Romans, be- 



Ch. iii.-lj — 9.] of ruth* 13? 

cause they held the plough with those hands which 
destroyed the enemies of their country. 

Wash thyself, therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy 
raiment upon thee. Anointing the head was customa- 
ry as well as washings, amongst persons of ordinary 
condition in the land of Israel, where they were high- 
ly expedient on account of the heat of the climate, 
and where they are still much practised. 

And put thy raiment upon thee. Naomi does not 
advise Ruth to procure new clothes for the occasion, 
which she might have perhaps been enabled to do by 
the profits of her labour. Her " adorning was not 
that of the. putting on of apparel, but the ornament of 
a meek and quiet spirit. 1 ' Yet it was proper, when 
she went to a feast, that she should put on the best 
clothes in her possession. If decency of apparel is 
not a virtue, slovenliness is at least an approach to 
vice. It is our duty to treat with becoming respect 
our inferiors and equals, and still more our superiors, 
when they honour us with their kindness. 

And make not thyself known unto him until he shall 
have done with eating and. drinking* And it shall be 
that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie ; and 
thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down. 
She was to discover nothing of her intention to Boaz 
when she went to the feast ? but rather to avoid any 
particular notice, that he might entertain no suspicion 
of what was to follow. Concealment of intentions 
may be very proper, and very consistent with upright- 
ness, in some cases. But we must beware of doing 
any thing -that will not bear the light, or using those 
arts of concealment in transacting lawful affairs that 
may be attended with bad effects upon .our character. 

M 2 



131 THE- HISTORY [LeCt. f» 

It was perfectly consistent with uprightness in Samuel 
to conceal his chief intention when he came to Beth- 
lehem to anoint David, and in Solomon, when he 
commanded a sword to be brought, and his guards to 
slay the living child about which the two harlots con- 
tended. But it was not wise or safe in Ruth to con- 
ceal her intentions from Boaz, when she came to his 
feast* Friendliness, and openness of dealing, is in 
general better policy than those arts of concealment 
which, if they are not evil in themselves, are often 
bad in their consequences* 

Naomi seems to have considered Boaz and Ruth as 
married persons ; otherwise it is scarcely conceiva- 
ble what end she could propose in advising Ruth to 
mark where he lay, and place herself at his feet* 
She either did not know, or did not recollect that 
there was a kinsman nearer to them than Boaz, or 
knew that the nearer kinsman would not perform the 
kinsman's part to Mahlon. However good her inten- 
tions were, she greatly erred in attempting to form a 
connection between them in secret* Marriage trans* 
actions ought to be openly published to the world. 
There may be just impediments to a marriage, which 
neither the parties nor their witnesses know, Naomi 
might probably think that their ancestor Judah plain- 
ly considered Tamar as the wife of Shelah, before 
she was given to him. He would not have required 
her to be burnt when he heard of her pregnancy, if he 
had not considered it as the fruit of adultery. If 
Boaz and Ruth stood in the same relation as Shelah 
and Tamar, why might they not agree about living 
together, without any new ceremony ? or, if any thing 
snore was necessary to be done, Boaz would take the 



Ch. iii. I, — 9.] or num. 133 

care of it upon himself, after this plain indication of 
Ruth's willingness to become his wife. Such were 
probably the thoughts of this good woman, for many 
even of " the thoughts of the wise are vain." 

Whatever apologies may be made for Naomi ov 
Ruth, none can with any appearance of reason be 
made for clandestine marriages amongst ourselves* 
If even the wise and pious Naomi acted so unwarily, 
when the laws and customs of the country seemed to 
favour her plan, what can be said for those who wife 
fully violate a plain law of their country, instituted 
for the prevention of the most abominable crimes ! 
What adulteries or incestuous conjunctions would be 
the natural consequence of the abolition of the bw£ 
requiring publicity in marriage transactions. The 
transgression of laws absolutely necessary for the pre- 
vention of any vice, is an attempt to remove the bar- 
riers by which it has been restrained. Important cir~ 
cumstances necessary to be known and attended to ? 
appear to have been overlooked by Naomi, when she 
gave directions to Ruth about her marriage. If Boaz 7 
and other mends, had been duly informed of her 
views, they would have secured Ruth against that 
danger of disgrace, or of something worse, which was 
evidently incurred, though God, in his mercy, pre- 
rented the mischief. 

Ver. 5. — .'hid she- said unto her, All that thou say* 
tsi unto me I will do, 

R.uth, we may suppose, felt some repugnance at' 
ihe thought of lying down at the feet of Boaz ; but 
she believed her mother-in-law to be a wiser woman 
than herself, and better acquainted with the laws and 
customs of Israel. She therefore promised to comply 



140 THE HISTORY [LeCt. 



fc 



iJ 4 



exactly with her advice. We are pleased with her 
humility, her deference, and her obedience to her 
mother-in-law ; and yet it is to be wished that she 
had consulted her own judgment more than she did. 
The holy writers often advise children to obey their 
parents, but their obedience must be " in the Lord." 
Faults that lean to virtue\s side are still faults. As 
none ought to call th^t unclean which God hath sanc- 
tified, nothing can sanctify what is contrary to the re- 
vealed will of God. 

The blame however, if we must blame Ruth, was 
not so much her own as Naomi's. Let all parents, 
and all whose office it is to command or to advise, be 
careful to furnish themselves with clear views of sin 
and duty, that they may not cause those who pay, and 
should pay, a great deference to their judgment, to 
err out of the way of understanding. One great end 
of the writing of the book of Proverbs was, that we 
might be furnished with stores of wisdom, enabling 
us to give sound counsel to our neighbours. " A 
man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels,'' 
Prov. i. 9. ifu 

Ver. 6. — And she went down unio the floor r and did 
according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. 

There are some who say, and do not. There are 
some who will not say, and yet will do what they are 
commanded by their parents. Ruth both says and 
does what her mother-in-law advised her to do. Both 
in word and deed we ought to testify our reverence 
for parents, and for all that possess a just title to our 
obedience. Exceptions must be made, because none 
but God can claim an unlimited right to our submis- 
sion. Ruth might err by excess of complaisance to 



Gh. iii. 2, — 9.] ©F ruth. 141 

her mother-in-law; but the errors of young persons 
are commonly of an opposite kind. 

Ver. 7r — And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and 
his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of 
the heap of corn ; and she came softly, and uncovered 
his feet, and laid her down* 

" Go thy way, eat thy bread with cheerfulness, and 
drink thy wine with a merry heart, when God accept- 
eth thy works," and giveththee special testimonies of 
his goodness. " Every creature of God is good, and 
nothing to be refused, being sanctified by the word of 
God and prayer." Although wine, as it is used by 
the sons of riot, " is a mocker, and strong drink is ra- 
ging," yet it is a good creature of God, given to cheer 
the heart of man. Christ himself turned water into 
wine for the entertainment of a company met together 
at a marriage-feast. 

Boaz did not think it below his dignity to eat and 
drink with his servants, nor did he think it inconsistent 
with the laws of sobriety to take a moderate share of that 
pleasant liquor which ; ' cheereth the heart of God and 
man," He would observe God's faithfulness, as well 
as goodness, in the provision of his table, when he 
enjoyed the blessing of his father Judah, to whom it 
was promised, that u his teeth should be white with 
milk, and his eyes red with wine." 

Think not that Boaz had gone beyond the bounds 
of moderation, when his heart was cheerful through 
wine. He had drunk away no part of his understand- 
ing, as you will see by his behaviour. Drunkenness 
is the introduction to other sensual impurities, when 
the devil can find means to present a suitable tempta- 
tion. " Thine eyes," says Solomon to the drunkard, 



142 THE HISTORY [LiCCt. 9* 

a shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall 
litter perverse things." But when Boaz found that 
there was a woman lying at his feet, he was asham- 
ed, and on his guard against every appearance of 
evil. 

" He went to lie down at the end of the heap 55 of 
wheat, in his clothes. This was another instance of 
the simplicity of manners in his age. Why should 
We wonder that people of ancient times had manners 
different from ours ? There is no law of reason or re- 
ligion that binds men of other nations to adopt the 
British laws. There was as little reason why the an- 
cients should observe those modes of conduct which 
are thought proper io be observed in our days. 

" She rose softly and uncovered his feet, and lay 
down. 55 Neither of them were undressed. Yet we 
can by no means justify Naomi or Ruth. We ought 
to " abstain from all appearance of evil, 55 and to 
" make straight paths for our feet, that that which is 
lame may not be turned out of the way. 55 No woman> 
can plead Ruth's example as an excuse for similar 
conduct, not only because no bad examples, even of 
good men or women, are to be imitated, but because 
the circumstances of those who might plead such ex- 
ample, cannot be the same, unless the Jewish laws, 
concerning the marriage of the near kinsman, were 
to be restored to their force. 

Ver. 3, 9. — Audit came io pass at midnight ^ thai 
the man was afraid, and turned himself $ and behold a 
woman lay at his feet. And he saidj Who art thou? 
and she answered^ I am Ruth thine handmaid; spread 
therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid, for thou art jg$ 
near kinsman* 



tDh* iii. 1, — $.] of ruth. 143 

Boaz was startled when he awaked out of sleep, and 
felt one lying at his feet. He was amazed when he 
cast his eyes on the person who had used the free- 
dom, and saw that it was a woman. Had lie intoxi- 
cated himself at the feast, when his heart was merry 
with wine, he would row have been exposed to one 
of the most dangerous snares of the devil. But he 
was in full possession of his reason. What w r as still 
better, his virtue or his grace was awake to preserve 
him from the power of temptation. By the grace of 
God he kept himself, and the wicked one troubled 
him not. 

Who art thou? he said. He could perceive by the 
•little light he had, that it was a woman that lay at his 
feet ; but what woman it was he could not discern, 
and it was natural to suppose that it must have been 
one of the foolish women, whq came with no good in- 
tentions to place herself so near him. We must have 
no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, 
but rather reprove those who evidently sin, and call 
those to account whose conduct is suspicious, when 
they will expose themselves to our censure. 

/ am Ruth thine, handmaid. Spread thy skirt there* 
fore over thine handmaid. Ruth does not now hesi- 
tate to make herself known to Boaz. She tells hiw 
who she was, and solicits him to spread his skirt over 
her, and thus to acknowledge himself her husband. 
A woman may, in some extraordinary cases suppose- 
able amongst ourselves, solicit or demand marriage 
from a man, without violating the laws of delicacy or 
reserve which nature or custom enjoins. But the law 
of Moses allowed a woman to request marriage from 
the brother of her husband who died without children, 



144 ^he history [LecL 9* 

and to put him to open shame if he refused to com- 
ply. Boaz was not abrother-german of Mahlon; but 
either the law, it appears, was in this age understood 
to comprehend the nearest relations, when brothers 
by fathers or mothers were wanting, or a custom, 
founded on the spirit of the law, was introduced to ex- 
tend its benefits. 

Women, in ordinary cases, would greatly err and 
expose themselves to shame, were they to shew an 
eager desire of marriage 5 but they may likewise err 
by affected refusals of an husband, or by obstinately 
continuing in the single state when they ought to mar- 
ry. " I will," says an apostle, " that the younger 
widows marry." He does not will them all to mar- 
ry. There are circumstances in which they who 
marry not, do better than those who marry ; but there 
are others in which they would expose themselves to 
needless temptations, or to useless vexations, by con- 
tinuing single. In this, as in every important step of 
life, let men and women attend to the directions of 
the word of God, and acknowledge him by prayer, 
and he will direct their steps in the way of peace and 
holiness. 

" Spread thy skirt over me, for thou art my near 
kinsman." The near relation of Boaz to Ruth by 
Mahlon, was her encouragement to seek and to hope 
that she should be covered with his skirt. May we 
not much more take encouragement from the near re- 
lation of our blessed Lord, to hope that he will not 
disdain to receive us into a marriage-relation ? Why 
did he take part of our flesh and blood ? Was it not 
that he might betroth us to himself ? In his grace and 
pity he " was in all things made like unto us, that he 



Ch. iii. 1, — 9.] op ruth. 145 

might be a merciful and faithful high priest, to make 
reconciliation for the sins of the people/ 5 He is the 
great pattern of conjugal love, for he gave himself for 
his destined spouse, " that he might sanctify and 
cleanse her by the washing of water through the word, 
and might present her to himself a glorious church, 
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." Why 
doth he send forth his servants, the ministers of the 
gospel, to declare his name to us ? Is it not that they 
may " espouse souls to one husband, and present them 
as chaste virgins unto Christ ?-' 



N 



14G the history [Lect. 10* 

LECTURE X. 



BOAZ PROMISES TO RUTH TO MARRY HER, IP HER HUS» 
BAND'S NEAREST KINSMAN DID NOT INSIST UPON HIS 
PRIOR RIGHT. HE DISMISSES HER WITH A PRESENT 
TO HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, WHO EXPRESSES GREAT 
SATISFACTION WITH HER KIND RECEPTION BY BOAZ* 

Chap. iii. 10,— 18* 



Ver. 10. — And he sdid^ Blessed be ihou of the 
Lord, my daughter j for thou hast shewed more kind- 
ness in the latter end than at the beginnings inasmuch 
as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or 
rich* 

RUTH, no doubt, felt much anxiety in her 
r mind, when she thought of the reception with which 
she might meet from Boaz, as the whole colour of 
her future life depended upon it ; but his former kind- 
ness gave her hope, and she was not disappointed. 

Some men meeting with such an application from 
a young woman, would have taken advantage of her 
imprudence to draw her into the snares of the devil. 
Others would have treated her with asperity, as a 
presuming wench divested of the modesty belonging 
to her sex, Boaz knew Ruth and Naomi too well 



Ch. iii. 10, — 13.] of ruth. 147 

to entertain any injurious suspicion concerning Ruth's 
present conduct. He saw that she was acting ac- 
cording to Naomi's direction, and that their views 
were pure, whatever might be thought of the man- 
ner in which they endeavoured to accomplish them. 
Actions are often to be estimated from the character 
of the actor. Virtuous women may be found in situ- 
ations that might justly expose them to suspicion, if 
their former behaviour did not give them a just title 
to have that conduct ascribed to mistake, or to some 
unknown cause, which at first view appeared almost 
inexcusable. 

Blessed be thou of the Lord, for thou hast shezved 
more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning 
to thy husband's family. She had no doubt made 
an excellent wife to Mahlon. Since his death, she 
had fulfilled all the offices of an affectionate daugh- 
ter to Naomi. Her desire of becoming the wife of 
Mahlon's near kinsman, was considered by Boaz as 
an instance of her kindness to the deceased, that 
deserved still greater praise. Boaz was an old man. 
A young woman of Ruth's beauty and character 
might have expected an husband amongst the young 
men of the country, better suited to her taste, and 
more likely to make her happy through life, if her 
happiness had not consisted to a great degree in 
shewing respect to the memory of the dead, and to 
the comfort of her living friends. 

u Thou hast not followed young men, whether 
poor or rich." Some might have supposed, that a 
mean and covetous spirit had induced Ruth to seek 
an alliance with Boaz, rather than with a man near 
her own age. But nothing could have been more 



140 THE HISTORY [LeCt. 19. 

unjust, than to entertain such an opinion of a wo- 
man of approved virtue. None but a woman fit to 
be a prostitute for hire, would marry a man for his 
riches, when she would have preferred another man 
to hirn if he had not been poor. Ruth's content- 
ment with her low condition, her conjugal affection 
to Mahlon, still apparent in her filial behaviour to 
his mother, her modesty, her piety, were proofs that 
she could not act upon motives so unworthy to come 
into the mind of an Israelitess.. An Israelitess she 
may w T ith propriety be called. She was so by choke 
if not by birth, and from a pious regard to the God 
and to the people of Israel, she preferred widow- 
hood, or the meanest connections in the Holy Land> 
to any prospects she could form amongst her friends 
in Moab. 

God hath made of one blood all nations of men t 
to bind them in the connections of a common bro- 
therhood. And he hath parcelled out men into par- 
ticular kindreds and families, to bind them still clo- 
ser in friendship with those to whom they may com- 
municate, or from whom they may receive the kind- 
nesses due from men to their own flesh. Boaz, en- 
tertaining a warm regard to his own kindred, thought 
himself indebted to Ruth for that affectionate regard 
which she had shewed to his friends. He gave her 
due praise for her behaviour, and promised that he 
would take care of her interests. 

Ver. 11. — And novi, my daughter, fear not, I will 
do to thee all that thou requirest ; for all the city of 
ray people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. 

Blessings of the tongue are cheap, and very readi- 
ly given by some who have nothing else to give. Bo- 



Ch. iii. It),— 18.] €>f ruth. 149 

az prays that the Lord might bless Ruth, and at the 
same time undertakes to do what she required, if he 
found it consistent with the rights of a still nearer 
kinsman. 

He calls her his daughter, and yet is very ready to 
take her for a wife* Equality of age is very desira- 
ble in the marriage relation, but not indispensable, 
If a young woman find that she cannot love an old 
man, she cannot, without sinning, and without expo- 
sing herself to great temptations for the time to come, 
enter into that relation, the duties of which cannot be 
rightly performed without that conjugal affection 
which ought to be maintained between those who are 
* ; no more twain, but one flesh.' 5 Nor can parents, 
without unnatural cruelty, urge their daughters to 
marry men, to whom they cannot cheerfully promise 
that love and reverence which are indispensably re- 
quisite in. Christian wives* But Ruth found no diffi- 
culty in the matter. She entertained a cordial love 
to Boaz as a good man, as the best friend of her fam- 
ily, and her own friend. Boaz neither thought, nor 
had any reason to think, that she wished from any im- 
proper motives to become his wife, for she was well 
known to be a virtuous woman. 

If she had not been a virtuous woman, Boaz w r ould 
not have thought of making her his wife. Neither 
beauty, were it equal to that of our first mother in her 
first estate^ nor wit, nor any qualification, however 
brilliant, or however engaging, can supply the place 
of virtue.. Without virtue, the most attractive qual- 
ities are very likely to become incentives and tempta- 
tions to vice, Prov. xxxi. 30. 

All the city of my people doth know that thoa art & 
N 2 



150 THE HISTORY [Lect. 1GV 

virtuous zvoman* This was a great recommendation 
of Ruth to Boaz, that her virtue was well known and 
acknowledged by all his fellow citizens. All young 
women ought not only to behave well, but to keep al 
a distance from every thing that may render their char- 
acter doubtful. What wise man will ever pay his ad- 
dresses to a woman, however virtuous, unless she en- 
tertain a due regard to her own character ? It cannot 
even be said that a woman is unexceptionable in vir- 
tue, when she is not duly careful of the appearance, 
as well as of the reality of virtuous conduct. Whatso- 
ever things are lovely, and of good report, must be 
thought upon and practised by Christians of both sex- 
es. Female delicacy requires particular attention to 
this rule of conduct from the weaker sex. 

Although Boaz was charmed with the behaviour, 
and pleased with the character of Ruth, yet he would 
take no unfair methods to obtain her for himself. " A 
virtuous woman is a crown to her husband. " But 
an honest man will not use unjustifiable methods to ob- 
tain the best crown which this earth can afford. 

Ver. 12, 13. — -And now, it is true, that I am thy 
near kinsman, howheit there is a kinsman nearer than /. 
Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if 
he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well, 
let him do the kinsman's part ; but if he will not do 
the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part 
of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveih. Lie down un- 
til the morning. 

When Alexander the Great took Tyre, he was in- 
formed of a young prince who had obtained a high 
character for virtue, and offered him the crown. The 
young prince refused it, because he had an elder bro- 



Ch. iii. 10, — 18.] or ruth. 151 

ther, who had a better title than himself to the royal 
dignity, for they were of the ancient blood of the Tyr- 
ian kings. Boaz deserves no less praise than this 
Tyrian prince. Such a wife as Ruth would have 
been preferred by Boaz to a royal diadem ; yet he 
would not take her to himself to wife whilst there liv- 
ed another man who had a preferable claim to her, if 
he was willing to make use of his right. We ought 
to " look every man not on his own things only, but 
every man also on the things of others," 

And now, it is true that I am thy near kinsman* 
Purse-proud men are ashamed of their poor relations, 
but Boaz takes pleasure in being accounted the near 
kinsman of such a virtuous woman as Ruth. If we 
are ashamed of virtuous and godly friends because 
they are poor, we would have been ashamed to ac- 
knowledge Jesus as a friend when he lived in pover- 
ty upon earth. 

Howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than /. There are 
different degrees of relation, all of which have their 
respective duties and their respective rights belong- 
ing to them. We sin either by neglecting any of the 
duties of these relations, or by arrogating the rights 
peculiar to nearer relations. A brother or an uncle are 
near relations ; but neither of them can claim the au- 
thority of a father, except in extraordinary cases^ 
when particular circumstances have devolved the au- 
thority of a parent upon them. Boaz would do every 
thing to serve Ruth that became her nearest relation* 
but one ; and this one thing he declined, because he 
had no right to do it. He would not intrude into the 
rights of another man till they were voluntarily sur- 
rendered. As every man ought to abide in his own 



152 ^he history [Lect. 10. 

calling, so we all ought to keep our own places in so- 
ciety. Much of the unhappiness, and many of the 
sins of social life, originate in that assuming and 
meddling disposition, which renders some people a 
pest to their neighbours, and still more to themselves. 
" Tarry this night, and thou shalt know whether 
thy nearest kinsman chuses to do the part of a kins- 
man, to thee. V Although we must not be busy bo* 
dies, yet we act a kind part to our friends when w£ 
take an interest in their affairs, and, at their desire, 
understood or expressed, transact such of them as they 
cannot so well transact for themselves. Ruth might 
have gone to her nearest kinsman, and required 
him either to marry her or renounce his right ; but 
Boaz saves her the. trouble*. and. we may say of him 
as he said of Ruth, that his kindness in the end was 
greater than at the beginning. It was a great pleas- 
ure to him to cause " the widow's heart to sing for 

joy." 

" Tarry this night, and I will transact the business 
in the morning. 55 Boaz would do with his might 
what his hand found to do. He would not cause 
Ruth to wait in suspense a single hour beyond what 
was necessary for bringing the most important busi- 
ness of her life to a conclusion.- One of the English 
kings was called Ethelred the Unready, . because he 
was always too late with his preparations to oppose 
the enemies of his country. O that men could know 
and attend to their duties in the proper season ! Then 
would they be like trees planted by the rivers of wa- 
ter, whose leaf fadeth not, and whose fruit does not 
fail. Christ hath redeemed us from all iniquity, that 
we might be ever ready for every good work* 



Ch. iii. 10, — 18.] or ruth. 153 

M K he will perform the part of a kinsman, well, 
(or, it is good), let him perform the part of a kins- 
man." But if he perform the part of a kinsman, 
Boaz must give up all thoughts of marrying the wo- 
man who stood so high in his estimation, and in the 
opinion of all his fellow-citizens. True \ but if he 
is disappointed of a virtuous wife, he keeps a good 
conscience. A good wife is a good thing, but a good 
conscience is better. If you could obtain the best 
wife in the world by injustice, you make a very fool- 
ish bargain. 

4i We are glad," 5 says Paul to the Corinthians, 
;; when we are weak, and ye are strong. 55 If Boa& 
must see Ruth the wife of another man, he will re- 
joice in his happiness, and in the happiness which 
he hoped Ruth would enjoy in his house. We should 
learn to rejoice with them that rejoice, when we have 
reason on our own account to mourn. 

" But if he will not perform the part of a kinsman, 
I will perform the part of a kinsman unto thee. 5 * 
You see he does not think the worse of Ruth for ly* 
ing down at his feet. He^ was governed by that char* 
ity which thinketh no evil. 

As the Lord liveth. Oaths are not to be sworn on 
trilling occasions. Boaz accounted the present an 
occasion of sufficient importance to justify his taking 
the name of God into his mouth. His word might 
very well have been believed without an oath ; but 
he wished to give full satisfaction to Ruth about his 
intentions, that her mind might be set perfectly at 
ease, and that she might patiently wait the event 
without putting herself to any farther trouble. 

It is a sign of a profane spirit not to fear an oath* 



154 THE HISTORY [Lect. 10. 

It is vain, scrupulously to be afraid of an oath when 
we are called to swear. 

Lie down until the morning* Boaz probably wish* 
ed that she had not come to lay herself down ; but 
since she was laid at his feet, he did not think it safe 
for her to leave him till the morning. He did not 
wish her to expose herself to the fears and perils of 
the night, nor did he think it prudent either to go with 
her, or to send one of his servants to attend her, in 
the darkness of the night, to her mother's house. In 
considering what is fit to be done in particular busi- 
nesses, it is often necessary to attend to existing cir- 
cumstances. Certain situations and circumstances 
may render it necessary and wise to do those things 
which, in different situations, it would be very unwise 
to do ; as you see in PauPs directions about those 
points, concerning which the Corinthian believers 
consulted him by letter, 1 Cor. vii. 10. 

Ver. 14. — And she lay at his feet until the morn- 
ing ; and she rose up before one could know another* 
And he said 3 Let it not be known that a woman cam*, 
into the floor. 

Let us endeavour to do nothing that will not bear 
the light. But if we have done any thing that may 
expose us to unjust suspicions if it were known, it is 
not inconsistent with integrity to conceal it ; provided 
it can be done without falsehood or dissimulation. 
Although Boaz was fully persuaded that Ruth came 
with no evil intention to the floor, and was conscious 
that their mutual converse was innocent, he did not 
know what ill-natured constructions might be put upon 
the conduct of either of them by some of their neigh- 



Ch. iii. 10, — 18.] of ruth* 155 

bours. M All men have not faith," says Paul ; and 
we know too well that all men have not charity. 

It is necessary for us at all times to cut off occa- 
sions from those who w^ould speak reproachfully. It 
was necessary especially that a stranger and prose- 
lyte should be careful of her character, and above 
all, a stranger whom a respectable citizen might claim 
for a wife. If matters had been so conducted, that 
Ruth's behaviour had excited suspicions against her, 
how could Boaz have proposed a marriage with her 
to her nearest kinsman ? It might have been suppo- 
sed, that he only wished foi a refusal, that he might 
take her to himself. But, highly as he esteemed 
Ruth, he would take no steps to obtain her, on which 
he could not reflect with pleasure. 

Ver. 15. — Also he said, Bring the veil that thou 
hast upon thee, and hold it* And, when she held it, 
he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on 
her ; and she zvent into the city* 

This, some may say, was a strange present. Who 
ever laid a load of barley upon the shoulders of a 
young woman whom he wished to marry, as a proof 
of his affection ? Might he not have given her rings, 
or nose jewels, or some Babylonish garment, rather 
than a load of grain fit to be laid on the shoulders of 
a beggar ? 

It may be answered, that Boaz could better judge 
than we, what presents were fit to be made to Ruth. 
Such questions will be asked by those only, whose 
acquaintance reaches not beyond the manners of their 
own time, or of their own people. If you have read 
the most ancient of uninspired books, you will find 
that it was not, in the days of old, accounted incon* 



156 THE HISTORY [Lect. 10. 

sistent with the dignity of heroes and kings to kill 
and roast their own meat. If you read the accounts 
of recent travellers to the East, you will find that 
great men think they pay a compliment to strangers 
of distinction, by sending them presents of provi- 
sions, even of the kind that is most common and 
cheap. 

Lovers amongst us, it is true, do not give pre- 
sents of barley to their mistresses ; yet barley is 
more precious than any of the trinkets which the 
customs of modern times have introduced, as pro- 
per testimonies of regard to the objects of love. 
When our Lord fed a multitude with barley loaves, 
he multiplied them, but he did not change them into 
loaves of fine wheat. Ruth, and her mother Naomi, 
had learned by poverty to set a value upon those 
kinds of grain, which fulness of bread, and abun- 
dance of idleness, dispose too many to despise. 
Those who must live on barley bread are monsters 
of ingratitude, if they receive not their portion of 
the good things of this world with thankfulness to 
the Author and Preserver of their being. The apos- 
tle Paul was often not so well supplied with food as 
the poorest of our cottagers, and yet his heart was 
warm with gratitude to Him who gives us all things 
richly to enjoy. 1 Tim. vi. 18. 

He laid it on her, and she went into the city. She 
received the barley in her veil, and carried it to the 
house of her mother-in-law. She disdained not the 
present. She did not think herself too fine a lady 
to carry it, although she hoped soon to be the wife 
of " a mighty man of wealth." God had given 
her health and vigour, and she was not ashamed to 



Ch. iii. 10, — 13.] Of ruth, 157 

use her strength in those useful employments, which 
may perhaps appear too mean to some of the lowest 
class of society amongst us. It is said of a certain 
Spanish king, that one of his attendants, seeing him 
one day employed in a piece of mechanical work, 
took the liberty of observing, that such employ- 
ments were fitter for a carpenter's apprentice, than 
a king. i* Nature," replied the monarch, ° has giv- 
vn hands to kings as well as to other men, and I know 
no law that should hinder me from using them." 

Ver. 16. — And v:hen she came to her mother-in- 
!azv, she said, who art thou, my daughter ? -And she 
lold her all that the man had done to her, 

Naomi doubtless waited with impatience the time 
when Ruth might be expected to return, but was sur- 
prised to see her come at a time she was not ex- 
pecting her, when the light began to appear in the 
heavens. The present too, which Ruth carried, in- 
creased her wonder, which she expressed in these 
words, JVko art thou, my daughter? We sometimes 
use a like expression, Is this you ? when a friend 
pays us an unexpected visit. 

And she told, her all that the man had done to her* 
Ruth used to hide nothing that was interesting to her- 
self from her affectionate mother-in-law: and was no 
doubt happy to inform her of any thing that would 
give her satisfaction. 

Let no young woman deal in secrecy and conceal- 
ment. Beware of doing any thing that you would 
not wish your affectionate mother to know ; and, if 
you have done any thing unfit to be known, make not 
falsehood your refuge. Ruth had no reason to be 
afraid of telling her mother-in-law what passed be- 

o 



153 the history [Lect. 10. 

tween herself and Boaz. " He who doth truth, cometh 
to the light, for he is not afraid to have his works made 
manifest." 

Ver. 17. — And she said, These six measures of bar* 
ley gave he me ; for he said to me, go not empty unto thy 
mother-in-law. 

Ruth could not conceal the bounty of Boaz, for her 
heart overflowed with gratitude ; and she mentions it 
to Naomi in language that would highly gratify the 
good old woman. Although Naomi had Ruth^s hap- 
piness only in view, as her own connection with the 
world was nearly at an end, yet she must have been 
pleased with the attentions paid to her by her friends. 
You cannot restore youthful vigor to your aged friends. 
You cannot give them a relish for youthful enjoyments. 
Yet you may console them by those kind attentions to 
which they are well entitled from those young friends 
whom they love. 

Ver. 1 8. — Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, un- 
til thou know how the matter will fall, for the man 
zcill not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this 
day. 

" There is a time to speak, and a time to be silent ;" 
a time to act, and a time to sit still. Ruth had now 
done all that her mother thought necessary. She 
may now sit still, for her affairs are in the hand of one 
who will take care to manage them in the most ex- 
peditious manner, and to bring them to a happy con- 
clusion. 

Some cannot be persuaded to act when activity is 
necessary ; others cannot be induced to sit still when 
they have done all that is fit to be done. Their anxi- 
ety keeps them in a constant bustle. They neither 



Ch. iii. 10, — IS.] of ruth. 159 

can be at rest, nor suffer others around them to rest, 
It is vain for men to rise up early, and sit up late, to 
eat the bread of sorrow, and to refuse to their minds 
and bodies their necessary repose. Let us not neg- 
lect our duty about our secular as well as our spiritu- 
al interests. Slothfulness is reprobated both by rea- 
son and religion : but let us still remember our Lord *s 
gracious injunction, " Take no thought," or rather, 
Take no anxious thought, " for the morrow.' 5 We 
ought never to say to our souls, " Take your rest, eat, 
drink, and be merry ;' 3 but we have too often reason 
to say, " Why art thou disquieted within me? Hope 
thou in God." 

Sit still until thou know how the matter zvill fall* 
Ruth might well be supposed to entertain uneasy 
thoughts about a business that was to determine the 
fortune of her future days. She did not know wheth- 
er she was to be the wife of Boaz, or of her nearer kins- 
man. But what could she do by the indulgence of 
disquieting thoughts ? She could not alter the laws or 
customs of the country. She could not do any thing 
more than she had already done, to procure for her- 
self that alliance which she desired. What could she 
now do better than to sit still, resigning herself to the 
providence of God. Things that will happen, cannot 
be prevented by our utmost solicitude. Things not 
appointed will never take place, if all the care and all 
the toil of men and angels were jointly employed to 
bring them about. For " who is he that saith, and it 
cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not : 
Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not 
evil and good ?" 

For the man will not be in rest, until he havejinisk- 



160 THE HISTORY [LeCt. 10, 

ed the thing this day. Naomi knew Boaz to be a man 
of wisdom and activity, a generous and honest man, 
who would not rest till he had accomplished the busi- 
ness in hand. Ruth having such a friend to transact 
her business, had no occasion to give herself any more 
trouble. A faithful friend is the most precious bles- 
sing which this world can afford. - " He that sendeth 
a message by the hand of a fool, cutteth off the feet, 
and drinketh damage ; but as a cloud of dew in the 
heat of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that 
send him, for he refresheth the soul of his em- 
ployers** 5 

Do you profess to be a friend ? Shew yourself friend- 
ly in your conduct. Be not backward to engage in 
the concerns of your friend when you are qualified to 
manage them to better advantage than he can do, or 
to give him friendly assistance to manage them for 
himself. When you have undertaken the management 
of any affair, make no needless delays ; for u hope de- 
ferred, 5 ' though not crushed, "■ maketh the heart sick. 55 
It was the known character of Boaz that inspired Na- 
omi and Ruth with such confidence in his good offices. 
Why should you forfeit the thanks of the services you 
mean to do 5 by wearying out the patience, and per- 
haps disconcerting the plans, of those who trust to your 
friendship ? Defer nothing till to-morrow that may as 
well be done to-day, either for yourselves or for your 
friends. " Who knows what a day will bring forth V 1 
It is said of Richard II. king of England, that he lost 
his crown and life by being a day too late in coming 
to join his army in Wales. 

When you have tried friends, trust their friendship 
as far as men can be trusted. David was not afraid 



Cfi. iii. 10,-18.] of roth. 161 

to put his life into Jonatlian-s hands, when Saul, for 
Jonathan's interest, was seeking his destruction. 

Have you no friends to manage your troublesome 
affairs, or to direct your management of them ? Say 
not so, as long as you are permitted to say concerning 
Christ, " This is my beloved, and this is my friend." 
u Commit your works unto the Lord, and your 
thoughts shall be established. Be not. anxiously care- 
ful about any thing \ but in every thing, by prayer 
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests 
be made known unto God, and the peace of God. 
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts 
and minds through Christ Jesus." 



O 2 



v 



t62 THE HISTORY [LeCt. IT. 

LECTURE XL 



BOAZ, IN THE PRESENCE OF TEN ELDERS OF BETH- 
LEHEM, PROCURES THE CONSENT OF RUTH'S NEAR* 
EST KINSMAN TO HIS MARRIAGE WITH HER, 



Chap. iv. 1, — 10. 



Ver. 1. — Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sac 
him down there ; and behold the kinsman of whom 
Boaz spake came by, unto whom he said, Ho, such a 
one, turn aside, sit down here* And he turned aside, 
and sat down. 

" MARRIAGE is honourable in all," but some 
make it dishonourable to themselves, by being un- 
equally yoked, or by reprehensible methods of en- 
tering into the state of marriage. By dishonest means 
they gain the affections of their partners, or trans- 
gress the good and necessary laws of their country 
by clandestine engagements. Surely there is no bu- 
siness in life which ought to be transacted with a clo- 
ser attention to the revealed will of God, than one on 
which so much of the happiness or misery of life de- 
pends. We are so far from acting like Christians, 
that we proceed upon atheistical principles, if we ex- 
pect any more joy from changing our condition tha^ 



Ch. iv. 1, 10.] OF RUTH, 163 

God is pleased to give us. We will find satisfaction 
or disquiet, happiness or misery, in marriage, ac- 
cording to the will of our Maker ; and therefore in 
this, and in all our ways,_Jet us acknowledge him, 
and he will direct our steps.. " If a man's ways 
please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be 
at peace with him." If a man's ways do not please 
the Lord, he can set his friends at variance with 
him, and poison the streams of his felicity with bit- 
terness, lamentation and woe. 

Boaz proceeds with candour and openness in the 
business of his marriage. He would not move a step 
in it, without letting his intentions be known to the 
only man that had a right to throw obstructions in his 
way, and transacts the matter with him in the pre- 
sence of ten of the most respectable men in Bethle- 
hem. Thus he provides for things honest, not only 
in the sight of God, but in the sight of all men. 

u He goes to the gate of the city." The gate was 
the place of concourse in ancient times. It was the 
place where courts were held, and where the most 
important affairs were discussed. The near kins- 
man seems to have been called off his way by Boaz, 
after he took his seat at the gate. The Lord brought 
him to the place where Boaz wished to meet with 
him. Thus, when Abraham's servant was in the 
way, the Lord led him to the house of his master's 
brethren. Things the most accidental to us, are 
regulated by God. 

Ho / such a one. Did not the sacred writer know 
the man's name ? Undoubtedly. But he seems to 
have concealed it from us, with the design of bury- 
ing it in oblivion. The man appears to have been 



164 THE HISTORY [Lect. 11. 

more solicitous than he ought to have been about 
the preservation of his own name, and it is suffered 
to perish. He would not raise up a name to Mahlon, 
that he might not mar that inheritance by which his 
own name was to be preserved. But the name of 
Mahlon comes clow r n to the latest posterity, with the 
name of Boaz ; w r hile none can tell what was the 
name of the man who was so anxious to avoid any 
thing that might impair the lustre of his family. 

And he turned aside, and sat down* 

Ver. 2. — And he took ten men of the elde? r s of 
the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat 
dozen* 

Whether he sent for them before or after he sat 
dpwn, we are not told. He did not proceed to bu- 
siness till he had abundance of witnesses to attest 
the proceedings, and of counsellors or judges to de- 
termine difficulties, if any should occur. " In the 
mouth of two or three witnesses," says the law, 
" shall every word be established." " In the mul- 
titude of counsellors," says the wise man, " is safe- 
ty." 

Ver. 3. — And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, 
that is come again out of the country of Moab, sell- 
eth a parcel of land which zoas our brother Elime- 
leches. 

Naomi was a poor widow, and yet she had a par- ] 
eel of land to sell. It was doubtless so encumber- 
ed, that hitherto she could not derive any benefit 
from it since her return from the land of Moab. It 
was her interest to sell it, that she might draw from 
it some help to her present subsistence ; and it was 
highly proper, that the first offer of it should be 



Ch. iv. 1, — 10.] of ruth. 16B 

made to that kinsman, to whom the office of redeem- 
ing inheritances belonged, according to the law. 
" He that hath friends, must shew himself friendly" 
when he has the power and opportunity, and, when 
he is in distress, may reasonably expect succour from 
his friends. 

" This land pertained to our brother Elimelech," 
said Boaz. All near relations were called brethren 
amongst the Israelites. By calling Elimelech their 
brother on the present occasion, Boaz insinuates the 
obligation lying upon them to deal kindly with Na- 
omi. When she was compelled to sell the land of 
her deceased husband, it was to be expected that 
his surviving brethren would give her better terms 
than strangers. If they did not give a larger price, 
they might soften the necessity that urged her to 
sell, by attentions and favours of no great cost to 
themselves. 

Ver. 4. — And I thought to advertise thee, saying, 
Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders 
of my people* If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it ; but 
if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may 
know / for there is none to redeem it besides thee, and 
I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. 

Boaz plainly intimates his intention of buying 
Elimelech's land, if his nearest kinsman found it in- 
convenient for himself to do it ; but he felt it his 
duty to give advertisement, in the first place, to him 
who had the best right to do it if he chose. The 
money of Boaz was as good as his friend's money ; 
but it might be an advantage to possess the land, al- 
though the full price were given for it, and it seemed 
agreeable to the Jewish law, that the nearest kins* 



168 the history [Lect. 1 T. 

man should have his option. We must not go be- 
yond, or defraud our brother in any matter, great or 
small, nor do any thing that has the appearance of 
taking an advantage of him. When land is to be set 
in tack, artful and clandestine means to obtain pos- 
session of it are suspicious. The master is under no 
obligation to let it to the former tenant. He may 
have justly incurred his landlord's displeasure. He 
may be less qualified to make the land productive 
than some of his neighbours, or he may be unwilling 
to give a reasonable advance in the rent. But let no 
unfair advantage be taken of him by his neighbours. 
If they find themselves at liberty to enter into bar- 
gain with his master, they ought not to behave to- 
wards the former tenant in any other way than they 
would think it reasonable for their own neighbours 
to behave towards themselves in similar circumstan- 
ces. Fair proceedings seldom need concealment. 
" Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, 
do ye even so unto them/* We ought not to account 
ourselves upright men, if this maxim does not regu- 
late every part of our behaviour. 

There is none to redeem it besides thee, and I am 
next unto thee. There was none nearer in relation 
than this kinsman, but Boaz was next in degree. 
" There is a friend that sticketh closer than a bro- 
ther.' 5 Such a friend was Boaz to Ruth, and yet 
he would not claim the rights of the nearest kinsman, 
but was in readiness to perform his duties, if he de- 
clined the performance. We ought to invade no 
man's rights, but to perform the duties belonging to 
every man in his place and relation. Nor are we 
always to confine ourselves, in performing the (Juty 



Ch. iv. 1, — 10,] OF RUTH. 167 

of relations, to those which in ordinary cases belong 
to our degree of relation. An uncle may be called, 
by existing circumstances, to perform the duty of a 
father, or a nephew to perform the duty of a son. 
There are some to whom it is a great loss to have 
near relations careless of their duty, or not well qua- 
lified to perform it. ■ They are neglected by other 
relations, who would be kind to them, if they did 
not trust the care of them to those who are more 
nearly connected ; or perhaps they are glad to have 
a pretext from the nearer relationship of others, to 
excuse themselves from troublesome duties. Boaz 
was ready, either to redeem the inheritance of Mah- 
lon, or to leave it to be redeemed by a nearer kins- 
man. 

And he said, I will redeem it. His meaning was, 
that he would give the money necessary for the pur- 
chase. But, when he heard the conditions of the 
bargain, he declined it. 

Ver. 5. — Then said Boaz, What day thou buy est 
the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also 
of Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise 
up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. 

When a man dies, his wife must lose his society, 
and the benefits of his industry ; but let her not lose 
what she has a right to claim, her portion of the com- 
mon goods, and the friendship of his relations. The 
rights of the widow are protected, and her injuries 
are avenged by Him who is " the judge of the wi- 
dow, and the father of the fatherless, in his holy hab- 
itation." Whatever necessity Naomi was under of 
selling the land of Elimelech, she would not deprive 
Ruth of her just claim upon it. He who buys the 



I6& THE HISTORY [Lect. li 6 

land, must marry Ruth, to raise up the name of her 
deceased husband, 

" The dead know not any thing, neither have they 
any more a reward ; for the memory of them is for- 
gotten, and their love, and their hatred, and their 
envy, is now perished : neither have they any more 
a portion for ever, in any thing that is done under the 
sun." Yet their memory is to be respected by sur- 
viving relations ; and the respect due to their memo- 
ries, is to be held the more sacred that they have no 
more a portion in any thing. When they have lost 
every other thing earthly, let them not be bereaved 
of what may still be reserved, the esteem to which 
their memory is entitled. They cannot hear the 
voice of friendship ; but it was their wish, whilst 
they were with us, to be remembered with kindness, 
when they would no longer enjoy our company. And, 
when we must die, it would aggravate our affliction 
to have reason to think that our memorial will perish 
with us. God provided, by a law, for the preser- 
vation of the name of those who died childless. " If 
brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and 
have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry un- 
to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in un- 
to her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the 
duty of an husband's brother to her; and it shall be, 
that the first born which she beareth shall -succeed in 
the name of his brother which is dead, that his name 
be not put out of Israel." 

This law was not exactly applicable to the case in 
question. The next kinsman of Elimelech was pro- 
bably not his brother-german, nor did he live in the 
house together with him. But a custom ; founded on 



Ch. it; 1,-10.] 9PMTH, ISf 

the spirit of the law, seems to have given the nearest 
kinsman a right, by proscription, to the refusal of a 
childless widow ; and to the widow, a right to expect 
the nearest kinsman in marriage, unless some consid- 
erable objections, from her former behaviour, or from 
particular circumstances, rendered the connection 
ineligible. 

This law was peculiar to the Israelites. Those 
who die childless amongst us, must continue so for 
ever. But we enjoy clearer revelations than the an- 
cient church, of the felicities of the other world. 
We need not greatly wish to have our names regis- 
trated in the records of any city upon earth, or in 
the genealogy of any house. It will be sufficient for 
us to have our names written amongst the living in 
Jerusalem ; and, if we have begotten any children 
by the gospel, they will be to us for a name and a 
crown of rejoicing in the day of Christ. This hon- 
our is to all those saints who turn any sinner from the 
error of his ways, though not invested with the min- 
istry of the gospel, James v. 20, 21. 

Ver. 6.— And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem 
it for myself lest I mar mine own inheritance : redeem 
thou my rig /it to thyself for I cannot redeem it* 

Unless we knew more than the sacred historian has 
thought it necessary to tell us concerning the circum- 
stances of this near kinsman, we cannot say whether 
his objection to the marriage with Ruth was founded 
in truth and reason, or whether his dislike to the match 
prompted him to make use of an evasion. It is like- 
ly that he had a family by another wife, and that he 
was afraid of injuring it, by laying out money on a 
possession that would not descend to them. 

P 



170 THE HISTORY [Lect. 11» 

Young persons should not enter into the marriage 
relation without serious consideration. This is still 
more necessary for widowers with young families. 
By rashness in entering anew into the married state, 
they may bring great disquiet to themselves, and may 
incapacitate themselves to do for their families what 
they had a right to expect. -Yet it is to be feared that 
too many decline the married state through distrust of 
divine Providence, or through unwillingness to forego 
some of those gratifications which the expense and 
care of a family would oblige them to relinquish. 
Paul speaks of a time, when, " for the present dis- 
tress, 55 it was not good to marry ; and., at any time, 
some are in circumstances which make it expedient 
for them to continue in the single state. But when 
men find the temptations of a single life dangerous to 
their souls, and yet abide in it to avoid the expenses 
or the reduction in their style of living, which marriage 
would render necessary*, they expose themselves to 
the snares of the devil, by neglecting those precau- 
tions against sin which human corruption renders ne- 
cessary. What sins and sorrows to young men might 
often have been prevented by prudent marriages ! 

Redeem thou my right to thyself, for I cannot redeem 
it* Although this kinsman did not chuse to marry 
Ruth, he was so honest as not to wish to hinder her 
marriage with another. He was unlike to some per- 
sons, who, whilst they are undetermined about marry- 
ing the objects of their attachment, use indirect means 
to hinder them from marrying other persons with 
whom they might be happy. Nothing can be a great- 
er indication of a selfish and grovelling mind, than 
for a man to work himself into the affections of a 



Ch. m 1,-10.] of ruth. 171 

young woman so far as to hinder her from listening 
to the addresses of others, whilst he is balancing in 
his own mind whether he will marry her or not, and 
behaves in such a dubious manner, that expectations 
are raised, whilst positive 'engagements are avoided* 
Let all young women guard against such insidious 
enemies of their peace, A man cannot be truly in 
love with a woman, when- his self-love is so strong, that 
he attends only to his own comfort and interest, and 
cares not what pain he inflicts upon those to whom he 
pretends a regard* 

Ver. 7, 8. — Now this was the manner in former 
time in Israel, concerning redeeming, and concerning 
changing, for to confirm all things : a man plucked off 
his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour, and this was a 
testimony in Israel. Therefore the kinsman said un- 
to Boaz, Buy it for thee j so he drew off his shoe. 

This ceremony is evidently different from that which 
was prescribed in the law of Moses, concerning the 
man who refused to marry the childless widow of his 
brother that had dwelt in the house with him. In that 
case, the widow herself was to pluck off the man's 
shoe, and to spit in his face as a reproach upon him 
for refusing to raise up seed to his brother. A dis- 
tant relation was not under the same legal obligations, 
nor subjected to the same reproach. 

Significant ceremonies are still used amongst men 
in transferring the property of land from one to anoth* 
er, as well as in many other transactions of importance. 
They are useful for authenticating transactions, and 
preventing disputes for the time to come. The kins- 
man of Boaz not only expressed his resignation of his 
right in the ears of the witnesses, but presented a vis» 



175 thf history [Lect. II. 

ible sign of it to their eyes, that all possibility of doubt 
or contention might be obviated. ' Here is my shoe,' 
said he to Boaz. 'He who wears this shoe, has a 
right to buy and use the ground in question. Let this 
be a witness, that what was formerly mine, is become 
yours with my consent. 9 

The use of visible signs for establishing bargains 
may call to our minds the wonderful condescension of 
our blessed Redeemer in granting us visible signs of 
his grace for the confirmation of our faith. As cer- 
tainly as the shoe of this kinsman was in the posses- 
sion of Boaz, the land which that kinsman had the pri- 
or right to redeem, now belonged to Boaz. As cer- 
tainly as we are cleansed by water, and nourished 
and refreshed by bread and wine, the symbols of the 
body and blood of the Lord^ are our souls cleansed, 
nourished, and invigorated, by the blood and body re- 
presented by them. We may say of such visible 
signs of a covenant, what Paul says of oaths, that they 
" are for confirmation to put an end to all strife. 51 

Ver. 9.— And Boaz said unto the elders-, and unto 
ull the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I havz 
bought all that was Elimelech?s, and all that was Chi* 
UorCs and Mahlotfs of the hand of Naomi, 

Boaz was not afraid of marring his own inheritance, 
nor did he seek any pretexts for declining that genera 
ous bargain which her kinsman refused. It is an hap- 
py thing not only for a rich man himself, but for all 
around him, when he is disposed to use his substance 
for the purposes for which Providence bestowed it. 

When Boaz makes the bargain, he calls not only 
upon the elders, but upon all the people present, to 
be witnesses. He followed the example of his father 



Ch. iv% 1,-10.] OF RUTH, 173 

Abraham. He never bought any land but a burial 
place, and he took all possible care to obviate any 
contentions about the purchase to himself and to his 
heirs. " The field- of Ephron, which was in Machpe- 
lah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave 
which was therein, and all the trees which were there- 
in, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in 
the presence of the children of lieth, before all that 
went in at the gate of his city," Gen. xxiii. " A good 
man will guide his affairs with discretion.^ 

I have bought all thatmas Elimelech's, and all that 
teas Chilioivs and MahlonPs* You see how change- 
able earthly property is. Men think they can secure 
it almost against death. By purchasing land, and 
using legal methods for transmitting; it to the off- 
spring of their own bodies, they can possess, it in 
the person of their second selves, after they go down 
to the grave.. Biit although you have both children 
and friends, you can be secure of no dwelling, but 
the house appointed for all living ; of no larger es- 
tate, than that quantity of ground which is sufficient 
to cover your bodies. In the course of ten years 
sojourning in the land of Moab, Elimeiech and all 
his sons died, and now his estate came into the pos* 
session of Boaz* Here you have no continuing pos- 
session. Seek a place in the better country. All 
believers in Christ receive a kingdom which will not 
pass to others ; but the world passeth away, and the 
lusts thereof. 

Ver. 10. — Moreover, Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife 
of Mahlon, have I purchased, to be my wife, to raise 
up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the 
name of the dead be not cut off from arnong his bre~ 

P 2 



174 SHE HISTORY [Lect.ll* 

thren, and from the gate of his place ; ye are witnes- 
ses this day. 

Boaz was now, in all probability, far advanced in 
j^ears, and yet he scruples not to bring a wife, and 
even a young wife, into his family. It is certainly 
not, in most cases, adviseable for an old man to mar- 
ry a young wife 5 and yet we must not reproach men 
for doing what the law of God does not forbid. It 
is probable that Abraham married a wife when he 
was old, Gen. xxix. A woman past the flower of 
her age is not prohibited by the apostle to marry ? 
provided she marry in the Lord. Men and women 
must judge for themselves in cases where the law is 
silent. " Be ye not unequally yoked," is a law 
-which prohibits the marriage of believers with unbe- 
lievers, or of virtuous with profane persons. It may 
be extended, in the spirit of it, to other inequalities 
which might render the marriage state uncomfortable 
or ensnaring to either of the parties, which a very 
great inequality of age would in most cases do. B&i 
it could not have been applied to the case of Boaz, 
although it had been found in that part of the Bible 
which was given to Israel. The inequality of age 
was so richly compensated by similitude of disposi- 
tion and mutual attachment, that it made little or no 
abatement of happiness to either party. 

Moreover, Ruth, the Moabitess. He was not asha- 
med of her extraction. She was a descendant, not 
of Abraham but of Lot, according to the flesh ; but 
she deserved so much the more respect when she was 
a daughter of Abraham and Sarah in faith, in well- 
doing, in patience, and in courage. She forgot hetv 



Ch. iv. 1. — 10.] or ruth. 175 

own people, and her father's house, and the eternal 
King greatly desired her beauty. 

The wife of Mahlon have I purchased to be my wife* 
Ruth was a widow, but not the less desirable for a 
wife on that account in the esteem of Boaz. From 
the duty she performed to Mahlon, living and dead, 
he concluded that she would make the best of wives 
to himself. She had this advantage above virgins, 
that her own works, as a wife and as a widow, prai- 
sed her in the gate, and all the children of his peo- 
ple knew that her virtue had stood the test of many 
trials. 

;; I have purchased her to be my wife, 71 or acqui- 
red a just right to her. It was necessary for him to 
redeem her estate, that he might marry her: but he 
made an excellent bargain, although the land was to 
go to the legal posterity of Mahlon, for ; * the price 
of a virtuous woman is above rubies." Houses and 
lands are the inheritance of parents, but " a prudent 
wife is from the Lord." 

To raise up the name of the dead upon his inheri- 
tance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from 
among his brethren, and from the gate of his place* 
Although the happiness that Boaz expected to enjoy 
in his connection with a woman so virtuous and ami- 
able, could have been a sufficient inducement to him 
to marry Ruth, yet it was not his only motive. He 
made no vain boast of his kindness to Mahlon, when 
he expressed his desire of perpetuating the name of 
the dead. It was for the sake of the dead that Ruth 
desired him to take her into the marriage relation, 
and he shewed all that readiness to comply with her 
desire which could consist with the rights of a nearer 



176 THE HISTORY [Lect. It. 

relation. It is mean and dishonest to pretend that 
you do any thing for the benefit or credit of your 
friends, when you are actuated only by self-love. 
" He that boasteth of a false gift, is like clouds and 
wind without rain." It is base to boast of your 
friendly offices to others, when vanity dictates your 
words ; but Boaz professed his friendly intentions to 
the dead with a view to the credit of him whose place 
he was to occupy. 

But how did Boaz know that his marriage with 
Ruth would keep up the name of the dead in his in- 
heritance ? He certainly was not ignorant that God 
alone is the creator of man, and that the fruit of the 
womb is from him. But he believed that God would 
give him seed by Ruth, because he was taking that 
method which God had authorized for raising up chil- 
dren to the dead. He married Ruth in the faith that 
God would make his own appointed means effectual, 
if he saw it/good., for (he end in view* Although the 
letter of the law (Deut. xxy.) did not require him to 
raise up seed to Mahlon, he acted on the principle 
on which the law was founded* His expectation of 
seed by this marriage is the more observable, as Ruth 
had been hitherto barren, and Boaz himself was well 
stricken in years. Perhaps we should not err, if we 
alleged that, like his father Abraham, he received a 
son by faith, although his faith had not the same dif- 
ficulties to surmount* 

The men of ancient times seem to have entertain- 
ed more ardent wishes than the people in our days, 
to have their names preserved after their death by 
real or legal descendants. A name after death will 
be of little use to us, if we are not found written 



€h. iv. 1, — 10.] ©r ruth. 17? 

amongst the living in Jerusalem. It is certainly how- 
ever our duty, to endeavour to leave a good name be- 
hind us> by doing those works that will deserve it. 
" The memorial of the righteous is everlasting. 55 " A 
good name is better than precious ointment ; and the 
day of death (to persons entitled to a good name) is 
better than the day of their birth. 55 Christ requires 
us to make our " light so to shine before men, that 
they, seeing our good works, may glorify our Father 
which is in heaven. 55 When our works commend 
themselves to the consciences of men, they will glo- 
rify God on our account, not only whilst we are yet 
alive, but as long as our names and virtues are remem- 
bered. Remember your rulers and other good men, 
now with God, who once conversed with you on earth, 
and follow their faith, considering the end of their 
conversation, and then it may be expected that some 
will follow your faith, when you have obtained the 
end of it — the salvation of your souls. 



17$ the histort [Lect. 12; 

LECTURE XIL 



euth's marriage, and the birth op obed. 
Chap. iv. 10,-22* 



Ver. 10. — Ye are witnesses this day* 

Ver. 11. — And all the people that were in the gait) 
and the elder s, said. We are witnesses. The Lord make 
the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and 
like Leah) which two did build the house of Israel ; and 
do thou worthily in Fjfitratah f and be famous in Beth' 
lehem+ 

YE are witnesses this day. It was highly proper 
that Boaz should call the elders and the people to 
bear witness to the purchase of Elimelech's land. It 
was still more necessary to have witnesses of his mar- 
riage-contract. Many of the female sex have been 
rendered miserable for life by a clandestine entrance 
into the n;arriage state. Publicity in engagements of 
such importance is necessary to the prevention of gen- 
eral licentiousness of manners. And those who break 
the good laws necessary to prevent immorality, con- 
tribute their endeavours to promote the interests of 
Belial in opposition to the interests of the kingdom of 
Christ. 



€h. iv. 10,-22.] of ruth. 179 

Wt are witnesses, said all the poeple. They glad- 
ly came forward to bear their part in that generous 
transaction, by which the family of Eliraelech was to 
be rescued from oblivion, and, in some sense, raised 
from the grave in which it lay buried. It was a grief 
to the people who entered in by the gates of Bethle- 
hem, that a family once honoured amongst them, was 
now on the point of extinction, and with joy they de- 
clared themselves the witnesses of a marriage which 
save them hopes that it would be again built up 
amongst them. 

The Lord make the woman that is come into thine 
like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build up 
the house of Israel. The fruit of the womb was great- 
ly desired by the ancient Israelites. It was one of 
the blessings promised to them in the Sinai covenant, 
if they obeyed God's testimonies. i; I will have res- 
: :o you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, 
and establish my covenant with yoir*'- The children 
of Judah would value this blessing the more, in the hope 
. ing birth to the Messiah, who was to spring from 
:-h. The men of Bethlehem did not yet know that 
their city was to be honoured above the other cities of 
el, or that the family of Nabsbon was to be honour- 
jove all the families of Judah, by giving him birth ; 
but they cordially prayed that Boaz might be blessed 
with a numerous progeny, as the fruit of his marriage 
with Ruth. 

The Lord make the woman thai is come into thine 

. like Rachel and like Leah, the general mothers of 

Israel. Leah was more fruitful than Rachel. She 

was the mother of the men of Bethlehem. She was 

the elder sister ; and yet they put the name of Rachel 



180 THE HISTORY [Lect, 12* 

before hers, because she was the wife whom Jacob 
chose, and who had the best right to the bed of the 
patriarch. Perhaps they might have another reason 
for mentioning Rachel with distinction. Her history 
was a standing memorial of the power of God, in giv* 
ing or withholding the fruit of the womb. She was 
for a time barren ; but God, in answer to her prayers, 
gave her two sons who were to be the fathers of a great 
multitude of descendants. The blessings requested 
for Boaz correspond to the prophecy of Jacob con- 
cerning the posterity of Joseph : " In thee shall Is- 
rael bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim, and 
as Manasseh*" 

Like Rachel and like Leah, who built up the house of 
Israd. Why is it said that Rachel and Leah built up 
the house of Israel ? Did not Rilhah and Zilpah share 
with them in this honour ? Yes. But the children of 
Bilhah were accounted the children of Rachel, and 
the children of Zilpah were Leah's children. This 
is a comfort to the poorest mother amongst us, that 
she possesses undivided the comfort of her relation, 
both to her children and to her husband. 

The Lord make the woman that is come into thine 
house like Rachel and like Leah, which built up the 
house of Israel. Boaz brought the woman into his 
house to build up the house of Elimeiech, but his 
townsmen prayed and hoped that this worthy action 
would be rewarded by the enlargement of his own 
family. He that does good 'shall receive blessings 
from men, and shall be well rewarded by God. " To 
Jiim that soweth righteousness, shall be a sure re- 
ward." And he may expect a reward in kind, if 
God sees it will be good for him. " The Lord give 



Ch. vi. 10,— 22.] op EU7K, IS2 

thee seed of this woman," said Eli to Elkanah, " for 
the loan which thou hast lent unto the Lord, 5 ' " He 
that forsaketh father and mother, and other relations, 

r my sake," says Christ, ;: shall receive an hun- 
dred-fold, fathers, and mothers, and brothers, and 
sisters." Nothing is lost, but every thing is more 
than saved, that is, from proper motives, bestowed 
on those men to whom God gives a right to our bene- 
factions. 

And do thou worthily in Ephraiah. He had done 
worthily, and they hope and pray that he may still 
do worthily* It is not enough for us to have done 
what is good : we must still continue to do what is 
veil-pleasing to God* Are there not twelve hours of 
the day? none of them are intended for sleep* Let 
us work during the hours of day the work of our di- 
vine Master, and it will be pleasant for us to fall 
asleep, and to rest from our labours. Boaz was now 
an old man. He must still do worthily. Although 
he cannot perhaps do what he was once able to do. 
he may do works no less useful to men and pleasing 
to God, The trees planted in the house of the Lord, 
and flourishing in the courts cf our God, shall bring 
forth fruit in c4d age* 

And be famous in Bethlehem* He was already 
highly esteemed, and they wished his fame to contin- 
ue and increas'e by well-doing* A great name is not 
2;reatlv to be coveted, but " a good name is better 
than precious ointment." The possession of a good 
name, acquired by doing worthily, fits us for doing 
much good to men, and for answering the end of our 
life in glorifying God, 1 Pet. ii. 16. 

Ephratah and Bethlehem are two names for 

Q 



182 the history [Lect. 22, 

same town. It is situated, as the name signifies, in 
a fertile spot of the earth. It more than doubly de- 
served this name, when the man whose name is the 
Branch grew- up out of this place, that blessed man 
who gave his flesh to be the life of the world. 

Ver. 12. — And let thy house be like the house of 
Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah^ of the seed 
zvhich the Lord shall give thee of this young zooman. 

Who could have expected that Pharez, the son of 
Judah, should be blessed with an offspring so nume- 
rous, that in him should Israel bless, saying, " The 
Lord make thee like Pharez in the fruit of thy body.' 5 
Pharez was the son of Judah by his daughter-in-law. 
The punishment denounced against some incestuous 
practices, is, that the persons guilty of them should 
be childless, Lev. xx. Judah's sin was not inten- 
tional incest, but exceedingly blameable ; and yet 
God, who is rich in mercy, made him, by Tamar, 
the father of a numerous seed, of which were many 
illustrious saints and heroes, and of which was Christ 
himself, according to the flesh. When Er and Onan 
died, and no sons were left to Judah, but Shelah, 
whom he was afraid to give unto Tamar, he would 
probably despair of ever having a great name amongst 
the tribes of Israel. But though his beginning was 
small, his latter end greatly increased. Benjamin 
had ten sons, and yet his tribe was the least of Israel. 
Judah had only three sons left after the destruction of 
the two oldest, and the birth of two of them was his 
shame and sorrow. Yet Judah was he whom his 
brethren praised for the multitude and the glory of 
his race. 

The Ephrathites discover great ardour in their 



Ch. iv. 10,-22.] of ruth. IBS 

prayers for a numerous family to Boaz. We know 
that their prayers were answered in the glory of ma- 
ny of his descendents, 1 Chron. iii. and in their 
great number. 

Whom Tarnar hare unto Judah. We all know that 
she was a Canaanitess, and that she brought upon 
herself, and upon Judah, much guilt ; but God par- 
dons iniquity, transgression and sin. Her name was 
perhaps mentioned by the Ephrathites, because she 
was of heathen extraction, and of a race of heathens 
of a worse name than the countrymen of Ruth. 
That God, who made a Canaanitess whose name was 
blackened by the vices common in her nation, the 
mother of many in Israel, might be expected to be- 1' 
stow a like blessing upon the virtuous Moabitess. 

Which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman* 
The ancient Israelites used to speak of their children 
as a gift bestowed upon them by God, and a gift 
much more precious than gold or lands. There are 
thankless men, who account their children a burden. 
Large families, indeed, may expose poor men to much 
toil, and to much anxiety in thinking what they shall 
do to find provision for so many eaters ; but " the 
Lord will provide,", and hath commanded us to cast 
all our care upon him, because he careth for us. 

Of this young woman. Ruth was yet young, al- 
though her husband, whom she married in her youth, 
was in his grave. This is one great advantage of 
equality of years in the married state, that the par- 
ties may hope to live together for a greater number 
of years, than those who marry husbands or wives 
much older than themselves. But this hope, like all 
others not founded on the word of God ; is precari- 



184 the history [Lect. 13k 

ous. More persons die in youth than in old age.. 
Boaz, it is probable, lived longer with Ruth than 
Mahlon had done. 

Ver. 13. — So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his 
wife; and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave, 
her conception, and she bare a son. 

He took Ruth, and she became his wife. He did 
not rashly promise to spread his skirt over her ; but 
that conditional promise which he made was faithfully, 
and with all convenient speed, performed. It is 
much better to be speedy in performing than in pro- 
mising. We may easily ensnare ourselves by well- 
meant words. Works are the surest proof of real 
kindness. 

And the Lord gave her conception* These words 
of God to Eve, " I will greatly multiply thy sorrow 
and thy conception," was a merciful threatening. God 
remembered mercy to our race, when he denounced 
the just punishment of our sin. Men's brows were 
to sweat with toil, but in the sweat of their brows 
(hey were to eat bread. Women were to feel bitter 
sorrows, that they might learn how evil and hitter a 
thing it was to sin 5 but they were to enjoy the com- 
fort, in their sorrows, of conceiving and bearing 
children. When it is said, that the Lord gave con- 
ception to Ruth, it is not a punishment but a mercy 
that is spoken of. She felt the sorrows of other wo- 
men, but she blessed God for these sorrows that were 
to bring her the joys of a mother in Israel. 

It is not said that she bare any children to Mahlon, 
the husband of her youth ; but to Boaz she conceiv- 
ed, and bare a son, for the Lord gave her concep- 
tion. " He makes the barren woman to keep house^ 



Ch. iv. 10,-22.] op ruth. 185 

and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye 
the Lord, who forms our bodies fearfully and won- 
derfully, and who creates the spirit of man within 
him." 

Ver. 14. — And the women said unto Naomi, Bles- 
sed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day with- 
out a kinsman, thai his name may be famous in Is- 
rael. 

The birth of Obed brought gladness not only to 
his mother and father, but to Naomi and all her neigh- 
bours. They loved her, and therefore they rejoiced 
in her joy. It was the praise of Naomi that she 
gained their love, by the virtue, the piety, the mild- 
ness of her manners ; and those who behave as Nao- 
mi behaved, will, for the most part, gain the affec- 
tions of some of their neighbours. If the poorest 
women are destitute of friends, let them examine 
their own conduct, and they will probably find that 
the fault is partly in themselves* That place must 
be very destitute both of piety and virtue, where an 
unblemished conduct, joined with sweetness of man- 
ners, will procure the affection of few or none. 

Our joy in the prosperity of our friends and neigh- 
bours should be expressed in thanksgivings to God, 
the giver of all good. Blessed be the Lord, said Na- 
omi's neighbours, who hath not left thee this day -with- 
out a kinsman. Paul expected that many thanksgiv- 
ings would be presented to God on account of the 
mercies bestowed upon himself, and he abounded in 
thanksgivings to God on account of the mereies be- 
- towed on his friends. 

Blessed be the Lord that hath not left thee this day 
without a kinsman. Whatever joy men give us, praise 

Q 2 



13& THE HISTORY [LeCt. 22* 

is due to God who makes them the instruments of his 
benefits. In the good-will of Boaz, as well as in the 
birth of his child, Naomi's neighbours saw reasons 
to bless the Lord for his goodness. Her nearest 
kinsman would not perform the duty of the kinsman ; 
but God left her not without a kinsman., When on@ 
friend behaves in an unfriendly manner, God can 
easily find us, or make us a better friend. Let u& 
never be dejected by the unkindness of those from 
whom we expected favours. All hearts are in the 
hand of God. When David found no favour with 
his own father-in-law, the king of Israel, he found 
much favour with the king of Gath, many of whose 
people he had killed in the quarrels of the king of 
Israel. 

He hath not left thee without a kinsman, thai hit- 
name may be famous in Israel. What fame would 
be acquired in Israel by the kindness of Boaz to 
Ruth and Naomi ? Was it to be hoped that his good- 
ness and bounties to them would be known and prai- 
sed amongst all th§ tribes ? It is natural for men to 
think that the actions which they admire, should be 
known and admired by all. The hopes of these 
good women were perhaps more sanguine than the 
case could justify; and yet they were more than 
realized. The name of Boaz became famous through 
all Israel, and will continue famous among the Gen- 
tiles also while the world lasts, because it is mention- 
ed with honour in the book of God. Both bad and 
good actions are often published to a greater extent, 
and continue logger to be known, than the doers or 
any of their friends expected. Single actions have 
©(ten become the seed of everlasting praise or cen- 



Ch. iv. 10, — 22.] or ruth, 181 

sure in the world. Little did the woman, who pour- 
ed the box of ointment on the head of Jesus, expect, 
that, wherever the gospel was preached, that which 
she had done would be spoken of for a memorial of 
her throughout the whole world. Our good or bad 
actions never die. They are written in the book of 
God. Our bad actions may indeed be blotted out by 
pardoning mercy. If they are not forgiven, they 
will appear to our shame in the next world, and per- 
haps in the present. If our good actions are not 
remembered by men, they will be brought to remem- 
brance by the Lord. The nearest kinsman of Naomi 
lost an opportunity of being renowned in Israel, be- 
cause he would not raise up seed to Mahlon. The 
name of Boaz will live in the church, and what he 
did will, at the last day, be published before men 
and angels. 

Ver. 15. — And he shall be unto thee a restorer of 
thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age ; for thy 
daughter-i?i-laiv, which loveth thee, which is better U 
thee than seven sons, hath born him. 

" For thy daughter-in-law hath born to him (a 
son)/' So some understand these words, and refer 
them to Boaz. Our translation is indeed the obvious 
meaning of the words, and agrees with others of the 
most celebrated versions. The verse seems, accor- 
ding to this way of reading it, to express the hope 
of Naomi's neighbours concerning the son that was 
now born to Ruth, that he would be a comfort to Na- 
omi's declining years, and would, by his virtues, by 
his kind attentions to Naomi, as well as by the ten- 
der affection which Naomi would bear to him as the 



188 THE HISTORY [LeCt. \% 

only remnant of her family, make her last days as 
pleasant as her former had been sorrowful. 

Boaz was already, and, they hoped, would con- 
tinue to be, the nourisher of her old age, and the 
restorer of her life. What he was, they expected 
his son would be. Good men have not always the 
comfort of seeing their children walk in their ways. 
But it is very natural for friends and kind neighbours 
to hope well of the children of those, who they know 
will be careful to train them up in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord. 

Blessed be the Lord, who hath not left thee with* 
out a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Is* 
rati. Some refer these words, not to Boaz, but to 
his son, of whom the following words are spoken. 
But the word which we render kinsman, is generally^ 
if not universally to be understood in a sense not ap- 
plicable to the child ; and there does not appear any 
absolute necessity to understand the same person 
as the subject of discourse in both these verses : " And 
he shall be to thee a restorer of thy life ;" or, " Thou 
shalt have a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of 
thine old age." The God, they thought w r ho had 
shewed her so much mercy, in giving her a kinsman- 
redeemer, had now given her a new proof of his good- 
ness in the son that was born to him. The sight of 
him was already a renewal of her life, and they fond- 
ly hoped that her grey hairs would go towards the 
grave with joy, from the good behaviour and kindness 
of Obed. Nothing earthly is certain. Naomi had 
been already greatly disappointed in her hopes con- 
cerning her family. She had bitterly lamented the 
change in her condition, when she came a poor des~ 



Ch. iv. 10,— 22-.]' or ruth, 189 

elate widow to Bethlehem. Her spirit sunk within 
her, when she compared her former with her present 
condition. But now God smiled upon her by his pro- 
vidence. She had as good reason, at least, as her 
neighbours, or as any old person could have, to hope 
that her last days would be comfortable. 

The time of old age is a time of heaviness to a great 
part of mankind. It is the time of which it is ordina- 
ry for men to say, they have no pleasure in it. For 
this reason, the children, or grand-children of old per- 
sons, ought to do all they can to sweeten to them the 
bitterness of that period. If you could restore again 
the life of your dead parents, would you not do it with 
joy? You cannot bring them again from thegrave, when 
the worm is spread under them, and the worms cover 
them. But you may give them new life before they 
go -to the grave, by your dutiful and religious behav- 
iour. " Now we live," said Paul to the Thessalonians, 
" if ye stand fast in the Lord. 55 Their stedfastness 
in faith was life to Paul. Such a life the women of 
Bethlehem expected would be given to Naomi, by the 
child born to her by Ruth. How little do those de- 
serve life, that will not suffer those who gave them 
life to live with comfort ! No punishment is reckoned 
too severe for them who are murderers of their fathers 
or of their mothers ; but w T hat is life, without comfort,, 
but a lingering death ? and nothing so effectually de- 
stroys the comfort of the aged, as the bad behaviour 
of children. If any thing can restore that pleasant 
life which they enjoyed in youth, it is the sight of vir- 
tuous, dutiful, and happy descendents. 

" He shall be the restorer of thy life, and the nour- 
isher of thine old age. 55 He was to be the nourishes- 



190 THE HISTORY [Lect. 1^» 

of her old age, not merely by supplying her wants, 
but by those kind regards which give far more pleas- 
ure to the mind than food gives to the taste. " Pleas- 
ant words are like an honey-comb, sweet to the soul, 
and health to the bones." But pleasant words are 
doubly pleasant when they come from the mouth of a 
beloved child. 

Naomi was not the mother of this child, nor even 
his grand-mother, in the common sense of the word ; 
but she was his grand-mother-in-law, and therefore 
had the same title to dutiful behaviour from him as 
other mothers or grand-mothers. It is not to imme- 
diate parents only, but to remote parents likewise 5 
whether they be our relations by blood, or by law, or 
by parental offices, that we owe filial regard. " But 
if any widow have children, or nephews," says Paul 9 
" let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to re- 
quite their parents, for that is good and acceptable be- 
fore God." Grandchildren are here meant by ne- 
phews. The word has changed its meaning since our 
translation of the Bible was made. Yet other aged 
relations are likewise entitled to that honour and duty 
which their degree of relation demands, especially 
when they want nearer relations. When rich friends 
want heirs of their own bodies, we hope to profit by 
them when they die. If they are poor, should they 
not derive some advantage from us whilst they live ? 
If it is not in our power to supply their wants, it is in 
our power to pay them the respect due from the near- 
est of their kinsmen. 

Although Naomi was not a relation by blood to the 
young child, she was his relation by a friendship that 
sticks closer than that of blood. Dearly she loved 



Ch. iv. 10,— 22.] of ruth. 191 

Ruth, and Ruth loved her with no less warmth of affec- 
tion. " Ruth, thy daughter-in-law, which loveth thee, 
which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. 59 
" Thine own friend, and thy fathers friend, forsake 
not," says Solomon. He speaks 8 3 if we were bound 
to regard our father's friend no less than our own. 
Naomi could not but love with a fond affection the 
child of Ruth. This consideration, independently of. 
her own legal relation to the babe, must have endeared 
him to her heart. But he must have been endeared 
to her likewise as the son of Mahlon, no less than if he 
had been the offspring of his own body, as love to that 
deceased husband was one of Ruth's great induce- 
ments to desire that marriage of which he was the fruit. 
Thy daughter-in-law, which is better to thee than 
seven sons, hath born him. Children of the youth 
are compared by the psalmist to arrows in the hands 
of a mighty man, and that man is said to be blessed 
who hath his quivers full of them. Seven children 
were esteemed by Hannah one of the richest of earth- 
ly blessings. n She that is barren hath born seven, 
and she that hath born seven langnisheth." But the 
good behaviour, the filial affection, and dutiful con- 
duct of children, is a far greater comfort to the pa- 
rents than the number of them. Naomi had only 
two sons, both of whom were dead, and yet she was 
as happy in Ruth, as other women were in the enjoy- 
ment of seven children. Great were her afflictions, 
but her happiness was likewise great, and it was not 
lost to her in the remembrance of those children that 
were not. Those persons are not always the least 
happy, who have experienced the bitterest trials. 
Their comforts may counterbalance or exceed their 



THE HI8TGJLY JLe'C't. 1& 

afflictions. If we are wise, we will not think more 
frequently or more intensely on what we have lost, 
than on what we have ; and if the comforts left to us 
are few in number, we will consider whether the va- 
lue of them does not make abundant compensation 
for their paucity. God has taken from you many 
children, and perhaps left you but one, whilst he has 
spared the whole family of some of your neighbours^. 
But if your one son, or daughter, excels in virtue, 
you may find more pleasure in your one child than 
your neighbours find in all of theirs. A certain 
Duke of Ormond, who lost a virtuous son, the Lord 
Ossory, said, that he would rather be the father of 
the dead Ossory, than of any living nobleman in Eng- 
land. Naomi would rather have been the mother-in- 
law of Ruth, and the grandmother-in-law of Obed, 
than the mother and grandmother by blood of any 
woman and child in Bethlehem, or in Israel. Her 
soul was melted at the remembrance of Mahlon and 
Chilian, but it was cheered by the virtue and happi- 
ness of Ruth* 

Ver. 16. — And Naomi took the child^ and laid it 
in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 

The infants of our race are feeble and helpless be- 
yond most of the young of the animal creation ; but 
divine Providence has not left us without a protector 
for our years of infancy. Why did the knee prevent 
us ? Why the breasts that we should suck ? Because 
a gracious God infused maternal love into the hearts 
of our mothers. Why did we find tender compas- 
sions in the breasts of those women who assisted our 
mothers to rear us up to a firmer age ? All the care 
employed about us in these first years of life, we owe 



Ch. iv. 10,-22.] of ruth. !93 

to Him who took us safely from the womb. That 
love of children which naturally arises in the minds 
of those who have the care of them, is wisely ap- 
pointed as a recompense for their pains. Naomi laid 
the new-born babe in her bosom, and became the nur- 
sing mother. She did not reckon it a burden, but a 
delicious pleasure, to have the care of that precious 
infant which was now the only remnant of her fa- 
mily. 

Some make themselves unhappy, by viewing only 
the gloomy circumstances of what befals them ; and 
others live content and thankful to Providence, m> 
der many adversities, because they view every thing 
in its most favourable light. Naomi's sorrows would 
have fretted her mind, had she considered the child 
of Ruth only as the son of a distant relation, by one 
from whom she once expected heirs to her own fami- 
ly. A peevish woman in her place would have said 
to herself, This child is my -son's only in name ; what- 
ever right he may possess to our estate, there is no 
natural relation between him and Mahlon. But Na- 
omi loved the child, not only for the sake of Ruth 
and Boaz, but for her son's sake, whose name was 
called upon him. She expected from him, in ma- 
turer years, all that tenderness of regard which a 
dutiful child can have to his mother, and felt an ex- 
quisite pleasure in those painful offices which the fee- 
bleness of infancy requires. Such was her attach- 
ment to it, that her neighbours spoke of it as if it 
had been her own child. 

Ver. 17. — And the women, her neighbours, gave 
it a name, saving. There is a son born to Naomi; &n£ 

R 



194 THE HISTORY [Lect. IS. 

they called his name Obed* He is the father of Je$~ 
$e, the father of David. 

It belonged to the parents to give new-born chil- 
dren their names. The first child born into the 
world received his name from his mother. John 
Baptist received his name from his father, when 
other friends wished to give him a different name. 
Jesus received his name from both his real and sup- 
posed parent, by the direction of an angel. The 
neighbours of Naomi gave a name to the child that 
w r as born to her, and both she and the parents ac- 
quiesced in their wishes. It adds greatly to the plea- 
sure of life, when neighbours are real friends, and 
when the freedoms of friendship are taken kindly on 
both sides. 

Obed signifies a servant. The reason why they 
gave this name to the child seems to have been that 
they hoped he would cherish Naomi, and be obedi- 
ent to her will in all things as a servant. Children 
ought to serve their fathers all the days of their life ; 
and in childhood especially they ought to honour and 
be ready to serve, not only their parents, but other 
friends of mature age. Little hope is to be enter- 
tained of those pert children, that will rather do what 
they please than what they are commanded or requi- 
red to do, by those to whom nature has given autho- 
rity over them. The women of Bethlehem could not 
believe that the son of Boaz and Ruth would be one 
of those unnatural children, who refuse to their pa- 
rents, immediate or remote, that honour to which 
they are entitled. " The eye that despiseth his fa- 
ther, and refuseth to obey his mother, the ravens of 
the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles 



Ch. iv. 10,— 22.] of ruth, 195 

shall eat it." Honour thy father and mother, and 
all that stand rn the place of parents to thee, and thy 
days shall be many. We have no reason to doubt 
that Obed fulfilled the hopes of the women of Beth- 
lehem, and the following genealogy gives us reason 
to think that he lived very long upon the land which 
the Lord his God gave him : 

He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 
If there is no omission of names in the following ge- 
nealogy, Obed's grandfather was one of the princes 
who came into the promised land with Joshua : and 
his grandson, David, lived within four years of the 
time when the temple of Solomon began to be built. 
We are told, 1 Kings vi. that the temple began to be 
built four hundred and eighty years after the coming 
up of ihe children of Israel from the land of Egypt, 
Four hundred and thirty-six vears must therefore 
have intervened between the entrance into Canaan, 
when >n, the lather of Salmon. ~ . . and 
h of David, who was the fifth from 

18*— 22. Now these are the generations of Pita- 
rez : Pkarez begat Hezron, and Hezron legal Ram, 
and Ram begat Amminadab. and Amminadab begat 
Sahshon^ and Nqhshon begat Salmon, and Salmon 
begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Olid 
Jesse, and Jesse begat David, 

As this genealogy terminates in David, it appears 
to have been written in his time. Although he was 
anointed with holy oil, he was not ashamed to 
it known that his great-grandmother was aMoabitess, 
and that she had once been a gleaner of corn after 
the reapers. The family o± David was of princely 



196 the history [Lect. 12^ 

extraction, and yet several of them seem to have 
been remarkable for their humility. Salmon married 
Rahab the Canaanitess. We have seen how Boaz 
married a poor Moabitess, and was content with the 
name of Obed for his son. David was the greatest 
and best of them all, and no less eminent for his hu- 
mility than for his other virtues. " What am I, and 
what is my father's house, that thou hast brought me 
hitherto ?" 

From this pedigree of David y we may guess for 
what reason he committed his father and mother to 
the king of Moab. Jesse's grandmother was a Moa- 
bitess. It is not however probable that his parents 
were well treated by that prince. When he was for- 
ced out of the land of Israel, he chose rather to go io 
Gath, whose mightiest champion he had killed, than 
to go to the land of Moab. 

Ruth not only became a mother in Israel, but the 
mother of the best and greatest men in Israel. I 
question whether there ever was a line of kings of 
whom such a large proportion were both good and 
great men as the line of David. 

Infidels have no just pretence for alleging that it was 
impossible there could be so few generations as five 
between the departure from Egypt and the building 
of the temple, at the distance of four hundred and 
eighty years. The life of man was indeed shortened 
before the days of David, and even from the time of 
Moses to its present period. What then ? " Is the 
arm of the Lord shortened ?" He can, if he pleases, 
give as many years to us as to Methuselah. It is 
very probable that many of our Lord's ancestors were 



Ch. iv. 10,— 22. J of ruth. 19? 

eminent for corporeal vigor and longevity as well as 
fof better qualities. 

But how are infidels sure that there were no more 
generations than five ? Five only are mentioned here 
and in other places of Scripture, where we find the 
names of these illustrious men. But it is well known 
that the Jews did not reckon themselves under any 
necessity to omit no names in their genealogical tables. 
Four kings are omitted in Matthew's genealogy of our 
Lord. I mention their dignity as an evidence that the 
evangelist, although he had not been infallibly guided 
by ihe Holy Ghost, could not be ignorant of their his- 
tory and lineage- 
It was the glory of Ruth to have David, the man 
who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of 
Jacob, the sweet singer of Israel, mentioned amongst 
her descendents. The lineage of this good woman 
here ends in this greatest and best of kings, this emi- 
nent pattern set before all kings that are blessed with 
the knowledge of God, for their model. 

But h is a far greater glory that we find not only her 
husband's name, but her own, expressly mentioned 
amongst the ancestors of our Lord, A rich recom- 
pense was given her by the Lord God of Israel, undrr 
whose wings she came from the land of Moab to trust. 
Yet we have no reason to envy her glory amongst 
mothers. We are related to Jesus by a more endeai- 
ing and a closer connection, if we do the will of his 
Father. " He that doth the will of my Father which 
is in heaven, the same is my mother, and sister, and 
brother." 

Q2 



DISCOURSE 



OK THS 



CONDITION AND DUTY 



Q* 



UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 



A DISCOURSE, &e. 



A HAT no power less than the Almighty power of 
God is able to recover us from that misery which we 
have brought upon ourselves, is too evident to be de- 
nied with any appearance of reason. We could not 
give unto God a sufficient ransom for our souls to pa- 
cify his wrath : and when the ransom has been paid 
down by our divine Surety, it will be of no benefit to 
us, if we are not made partakers of Christ and his 
salvation, t>y the effectual operation of the divine 
Spirit, We are by nature dead in sin, and cannot 
make ourselves alive. That divine power which 
made us men is necessary to make us saints. It was 
God's design in the application, as well as in the 
purchase of our salvation, to shew forth the exceed- 
ing riches of his grace. But if any exertions of our 
own powers can bring us into a state of salvation, 
it is no more of grace, far less of the exceeding rich- 
es of grace, Rom. xi. 6. " By grace are ye saved, 
through faith 5 and that not of yourselves ; it is the 
gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should 
boast ; for we are his workmanship, created in Christ 
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before or- 
dained, that we should walk in them," Eph. ii. 8, — 
10. 



202 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

But does not this doctrine natively tend to produce 
either despair or uncertainty in the hearers of it, if 
they apprehend that they are not already in a state of 
salvation? If they are earnestly desirous of escaping 
from the wrath to come, will they not sink into de- 
spondency when they reflect that neither they nor any 
of their fellow-creatures can deliver them ? Or, if 
they are not much concerned about salvation, will 
they not find a fair pretence in this doctrine for set- 
ting their minds at ease concerning their eternal state, 
and for putting off the sorrows of a sinful and mise- 
rable condition to a long day ? 

That such conclusions were drawn in very early 
times from this doctrine, or doctrines connected with 
it, appears from the objections to Paul's doctrine 
concerning the sovereignty of divine grace, Rom. ix. 
19. I am sorry to find that some zealous contenders 
for this doctrine furnish too fair a pretence for such 
conclusions, by alleging that there is no more reason 
to hope for the salvation of those who are trained up 
to attend the means of grace, than of those who cast 
off equally the fear of God and of man. 

The doctrine, that there is no more reason to hope 
for the conversion of unregenerate persons who at- 
tend the means of grace than of those who -do not at- 
tend them, appears tome to be not less (pernicious 
than the doctrine of those who teach that men have 
it in their power, by the use of jneans, to convert 
themselves. 

If men are made to believe that there is no advan- 
tage in reading or hearing the word of God, unless 
they are already converted, what will they do ?. Per- 
sons do not use to undertake any business, without 



©P UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 203 

some hope of success and advantage. If you per- 
suade a man, that there is no more hope of a crop, 
though he should plant and sow his ground, than if he 
leave it wholly uncultivated, will he put himself to the 
trouble of performing all the labours of husbandry ? 
" He that laboureth,' 5 says Solomon, " laboureth for 
himself; for his mouth crave th it of him." He that is 
not stimulated by desire and hope, will do nothing. 

When you advise some sick persons to have re- 
course to the physician, they will tell you that it is vain ; 
the number of our days is fixed by a divine decree ; 
and all the physicians in the world cannot lengthen the 
time of our life. Thus, when you tell sinners that 
they must diligently use the means of salvation, some 
of them will say, why should w r e, who can do no- 
thing, use any. means? Thus they set the decrees of 
God, or the sovereignty of grace, at variance with 
their duty ; and attempt to break that harmony of the 
doctrines revealed in the Scriptures, which is no small 
evidence of their divine original : and bring suspicions 
upon those glorious doctrines for which they profess 
an extraordinary -degree of zeal. 

In order to explain this subject I will enquire, 

I. Whether the utmost exertion of our diligence in 
using the means of grace, will ensure our salvation. 

II. Whether the diligent use of means does not ren- 
der our salvation more probable than the neglect of 
them. 

. III. What directions may assist us in the profitable, 
use of means. 



204 ON THE CONDITION A&D DUTY 



PART h 

I. Let us enquire, Whether our utmost diligence in 
the use of means will ensure our salvation ? 

This question may perhaps appear superfluous, be- 
cause it may be very justly questioned, whether there 
is any unconverted, or even converted, sinner in the 
Christian world, that has ever used the means of grace 
with all possible diligence. You have re&d twenty 
chapters of the Bible, perhaps, in one day ; but you 
might have read thirty. You have endeavoured to 
pray seven times a-day with a considerable degree 
of fervour, bg£ you might have prayed ten times with 
an equal or a greater degree of fervour, if you had be- 
stowed more attention upon the things that belong t# 
your peace. 

But supposing a person to have used as much dili- 
gence in the public and private exercises of religion, 
as a natural man, under a deep concern for salvation, 
can be supposed to do, is it certain that he will obtain 
salvation ? 

The question is not, whether men have it in their 
power to convert themselves ? We have already 
shewed, that the exceeding greatness of the power of 
God is necessary to work a living faith, and a true re- 
pentance, in the hearts of men. 

But the question is, Whether any obligation, of 
any kind, lies upon the Almighty, to bestow his 
saving grace upon unregenerate persons diligent in 
the use of means. Would it be consistent with his 
goodness, consistent with the encouragement given 
to sinners in the word of grace, to withhold from 
such persons what they seek with the desire of their 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNE&S* 205 

hearts ? or with all that earnestness of desire which 
can find place in the heart of the natural man ? 

We must not allure persons to their duty by en- 
couragements unwarranted by God in his word ; and 
we not only confess that nothing done by unconverted 
persons can give them any claim upon that grace, 
without which they must perish, but hold the contrary 
opinion to be an error subversive of the true doctrine 
of the grace of God, 

The grace of God in cur salvation is free and 
sovereign. Nothing in us moves God to save us. 
It is his great purpose in this blessed work to shew 
forth the exceeding riches of his grace, and the grace 
of God stands opposed to human works and qualifi- 
cations of every kind, as the apostle Paul and other 
holy writers abundantly teach. ** That the purpose 
of God, according to election, might stand, not of 
works, but of him that calleth, It was said unto her ? 
(Rebeccah) the elder shall serve the younger. — Hath 
not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump 
to make one vessel to honour and another to dishon- 
our ?" Rom. ix. 11. 21. 

It is a most important doctrine in our religion, that 
the ground of our hope in God lies not in ourselves, 
but in his sovereign mercy, in his faithful word, ift 
the mediation of Christ. To imagine that we have 
entitled ourselves to the favour of God by our own 
exertions, is to follow the wretched example of those 
proud men in ancient times, who, " going about to 
establish their own righteousness, did not submit 
themselves to the righteousness of God." " To him 
that worketh, the reward is not reckoned of grace, 
but of debt ; but to him that worketh not, but be* 

3 



206 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

lieveth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is 
counted for righteousness," Rom. iv. 4, 5. These 
words of the apostle are intended to illustrate what 
Moses says of Abraham's faith, Gen. xv. 6. Abra- 
ham was a righteous man long before the time when 
it is said, that " his faith was counted to him for 
righteousness ;?? and yet the expression, says Paul, 
implies that he considered himself an ungodly man, 
in reference to that blessed privilege. He believed 
in God to be justified, without any works performed 
by himself, but freely according to the riches of his 
grace. If the most righteous of men look not for 
acceptance with God .to any thing in themselves, how 
ill would it become those who are altogether desti- 
tute of any righteousness, to imagine that they have 
a claim to the favour of God for any works which 
they ever performed, or can perform ! 

Whatever ardour unregenerate persons may feel 
or discover in religious concerns, it is as true of them 
as of any other person in a natural state, that they 
are " free from righteousness," to use Paul's expres- 
sion, Rom. vi. 20. Their ardour is not the effect of 
love to God, but of love to themselves, and God is 
not bound to thank them for that love to themselves 
which is not at all mingled with any real love to his 
own name. 

We may add, that, as they are free from righteous- 
ness, they are still the servants of sin, for no man 
before his conversion is set free from the dominion of 
sin, Rom. vi. 16. And it would be very absurd to 
suppose that God could be under obligations of any 
kind to bestow the best blessings upon the servants 
of Satan* They do not indeed perform such service 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 207 

\o sin. as those do who gratify every sinful lust with- 
out hesitation. They dare not run on so boldly in 
the ways of perdition as perhaps they once did, but 
they are still under the dominion of one or other of 
sinful lusts, which bring the wrath of God upon 
the children of disobedience. There is still some- 
g in the present world which they prefer to God. 
There are pleasures of sin which they prefer to all 
Measures of holiness, although their sense ofclan- 
revents them from gratifying their inclinations; 
and this will often manifest itself to their own con- 
>d and terror. For sin, which seemed to die 
n them at certain seasons, under strong impres- 
sions of its tremendous consequences, uses to collect 
its force when those impressions are abated, and to 
em in their wonted course of iniquity, either 
of an external, or more frequently of a mental kind. 
Nor does sin cease to operate when it seems to have 
lost its former power. What it loses in one way, it 
often ^ains m another. When sensual lusts become 
: and loathsome, by the impressions of the law 
upon their consciences, enmity against the purity of 
the law. which is the same thing with enmity against 
the holy God, rages with uncontrouled violence. 
This Paul himself found to be the case when he was 
under the convincing power of the law. What 
is would he not then have given for salvation! 
and yet he was so far from thinking that he had any 
claim to it from God, that his heart appeared to him- 
self a strong hold of devils, Rom. vii. 8, — 14. 
•* Sin. by the commandment, became exceeding sin- 
ful." and death had possession of his soul. 

Facts are unanswerable arguments. It is too cer- 



208 ON THE CONDITION AffD TfVTY 

tain that many have sought to enter in at the strait 
gate, and have not been able ; that many have sought 
after the law of righteousness, and have not attain- 
ed to the lav/ of righteousness, Luke xiii. 24. Rom* 
ix. 30. The seed of the word has sprung up, and 
promised rich fruit in many, and yet when the day of 
trial came, it has come to nothing, Luke viii. 

I have heard of a gentleman who felt, in a season 
of dangerous sickness, great terror at the review of 
his former life, and was advised to send for the mi- 
nister of the parish, who might be able to set his 
mind at rest. The minister came. The gentleman 
told him, that, if God would be pleased to preserve 
him from death, his conduct should be the reverse of 
what it had been. He would regularly attend church 9 f 
he would catechize his servants ; he would regularly 
worship God in his family, and in his closet ; he 
would, in short, do every thing that a good Christian 
would do. His wishes were accomplished. He was 
thankful for his deliverance, and did not forget his 
promises. For many months he continued, as far as 
his conduct could be judged of by the world,- to per- 
form his vows. At last, however, he thought, so much 
religion superfluous. He first left off the duties of the 
closet and family. Public duties at last became like- 
wise too w r earisome, and he became again the same 
man that he formerly was. After some time he was 
agairi seized by a dangerous distemper, and was ad- 
vised by his friends to send again for the minister* 
that he might afford fresh consolation to his wounded 
spirit. No, said he ; after breaking all the promises 
that I made to God, I cannot expect mercy from him* 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 209 

Death found him in this unhappy stale of mind, and 
carried him to that world where there are no changes. 

This story, with some variations of no consequence, 
may be told of thousands. Impressions are made 
upon the minds of sinners,~which are attended with vi- 
sible consequences that give rise to favourable hopes ; 
but these hopes are illusions. Their "goodness is 
like the morning cloud, and like the early dew that 
passeth away." When the Lord slew the children of 
Israel, " then they sought him, and they returned and 
enquired early after God. And they remembered 
that the Lord had been their rock, and the High God 
their redeemer; yet they lied unto God with their 
mouths, and flattered him with their tongues." They 
did not intentionally lie. They seem frequently to 
have been sincere in their promises, not indeed with 
"a godly sincerity," 2 Cor. i. 12. yet 1 " their hearts 
were not right with God. neither were they stedfast in 
his covenant," Psal. lxxviii. 34,-37. 

This doctrine, that man can have no claim upon God 
by any thing he can do, is so plain from Scripture and 
reason, that the truth of it can scarcely be denied ia 
words by any considerate person ; and yet it is more 
necessary to be spread out to view, and confirmed by 
arguments, than some doctrines less generally acknow- 
ledged, because the operation of it is opposed by that 
pride which is natural to the human heart, and the con- 
trary error may have a. secret influence upon those 
who confess-the truth, and may be very pernicious to 
their souls when it is not discerned. As all men know 
that they must die, and yet, i; all men (as the poet says) 
think all men mortal but themselves ;" so all sound 
Protestants confess that they must be justified freelv* 
S.2- 



210 ON THE CONDITION AND D¥TY 

without any cause in themselves, through the grace of 
God 5 and yet if they are left under the guidance of 
their own deceitful hearts, they hope to recommend 
themselves to God's pity by something in themselves. 
They will do all they can, and Christ will supply their 
lack of service. 

There is a distinction made in the doctrine of the 
church of Rome, between the merit of condignity and 
the merit of congruity. And those who think the 
former too high an attainment for sinful mortals, allow 
of the latter. They will not say that man can deserve 
any thing from God in justice ; but he may however 
be entitled in equity to his favour. He can perform 
Such services, that although he could expect no re- 
compense, if God were strictly just to demand a pro* 
per price for his favours, yet he cannot, without im- 
pairing the glory of his goodness, withhold an abun- 
dant reward. But those who renounce in words the 
whole doctrine of merit, hold it in reality, if they im- 
agine that it would be unw r orthy of the divine gener» 
osity not to give them that salvation which they la- 
bour by all means in their power to obtain. 

" Who hath first given to the Lord, and it shall be 
recompensed to him again ?" Say not, that though 
your goodness cannot reach unto him, yet he cannot 
refuse to give you what you seek, because you can 
plead his own word, " Seek, and ye shall find." His 
word is true and faithful. But what is the meaning of 
it ? Are your prayers and duties such as are meant in 
these words ? " Many shall seek to enter in, and shall 
not be able." This is no less a true saying of God, 
than the words on which you ground your plea ; and 
from the two passages compared, it will appear, that 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 2H 

there are two very different ways of seeking God. — - 
Many have cried aloud to God, and he would not hear 
them ; although he never forsook them that truly 
sought him. " All that call upon the name of the 
Lord shall be saved," Rom. x. 11 . This is a text of 
the same import with the words of our Lord, " Seek, 
and ye shall find $" but mark Paul's comment upon 
it : " How then shall they call on him on whom they 
have not believed ?" Faith in Christ is essentially ne- 
cessary to acceptable prayer, James i. 5. and there- 
fore God is true to his promise, and answers the pray- 
ers of all faithful petitioners, whether he bestows his 
grace on unbelievers, or withholds it after all the ex- 
ertions they can make in the use of the best means for 
obtaining it. 

God deceives no man. If men deceive themselves^ 
they must bear the consequences of their own folly. 
When they read of God's regard to the voice of pray- 
er, if they apply what is said to what they are pleased 
to call prayer, although it may be an abomination to 
the Lord, they are not trusting to his word, but to 
their own misrepresentations of it. The prayer of 
faith is his delight ; but surely the prayer of unbelie- 
vers cannot be entitled to his acceptance, for he that 
belie veth not is under the wrath of God. 

The condition of all natural men is the same. They 
are all " under the curse" of God. They are all 
"children of wrath." Some of them are "not far 
from the kingdom of God ;" but however near they 
may be to it, they are not in it. However near the 
man-slayer was to the cily of refuge, he was liable to 
be slain by the avenger of blood if he was found 
without the gates. 



212 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

? They that are in the flesh cannot please God.- 1 
They may pray with great ardour, but their ardour 
can originate in no principles that can give them the 
shadow of a title to divine acceptance. God will cer- 
tainly disappoint no desires that he has laid himself 
under any obligations to gratify. He will fulfil his 
own promises, in whatever form the promise has been 
given ; but he is laid under no obligation, by the false 
constructions that selfish men may put upon any part 
of his word. " Add not unto his words, lest he re- 
prove thee, and thou be found a liar." 

But if the utmost degree of that seriousness which 
is the effect of natural principles does not insure to us 
the grace of God, what need is there of that inquiry 
w r hich was proposed to be the second part of this dis- 
course ;— 



PART II. 



Whether those who diligently use the means of 
grace are more likely to obtain it than those who ne- 
glect them, or who are careless in the use of them? 

To this I answer, that God gives us many things 
which we have no ground to claim from him. I 
might have said, that he gives us all things out of the 
riches of his bounty, when we have no claim upon 
him for any thing. But he has given us a claim upon 
his goodness, and even upon his righteousness, ft>£ 
those things which he has promised ; and therefore 
Paul speaks as if God could not be righteous, if he 
should forget the works and labours of love to his 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 213 

people, for his name ? s sake, Heb. vi. 9. But besides 
these things, he gives to men many precious blessings 
out of the riches of his goodness, i; He is found of 
them that sought him not." He gives food and rai- 
ment, and all things richly to enjoy, to those whom, 
without violation of any of his engagements; he might 
cast into hell. 

Paul declares, Rom, iii. 2. that the Jews had much 
advantage every way over the Gentiles, and yet he 
says a few verses after, ver. 9. that the Jews were no 
better than the Gentiles. They were both guilty be- 
fore God. They stood in equal need of justification 
by free grace, and yet the one had great advantage 
over the other. How ? i; Chiefly, because unto them 
were committed the oracles of God/' These words 
seem to be a sufficient answer to the question before 
us. If it is a great advantage to possess the oracles 
of God, it must be a great advantage to make ir< 
them : for of what use can it be to possess any thing 
without using it ? The miser is not reckoned r: 
than the poorest beggar in the country, because he 
can derive no greater advantage from the wealth 
which he hoards up, than the beggar from the pittance 
which he receives from the hand of charity. The 
poverty of the one is voluntary, that of the other forc- 
ed : but the first is not more easily remedied than the 
second. It is easier for a man who wants money to 
obtain it. than for a man of a sordid turn of mind to find 
a remedy for that mental disorder which makes him 
the object of pity and contempt. 

Let us more particularly consider, 

1. Why God hath given his word, and appointed 
his ordinances. Is it not for the conversion of sia- 



214 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

ners, as well as for the edification of believers ? " He 
established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law 
in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they 
should make them known unto their children : that the 
generation to come might know them, even the chil- 
dren that should be bom, who should arise and de- 
clare them unto their children." For what end ?— 
" That they might set their hope in God, and not for- 
get the works of God, but keep his commandments ; 
and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and a 
rebellious generation, a generation that set not their 
hearts aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with 
God,' 5 Psal. Ixxviii. 5,-8. 

Surely God does not appoint means that are not 
likely to serve the ends for which they are appoint- 
ed. Or, if they have no natural virtue for that pur- 
pose, he did not appoint them without intending to 
give them virtue. It was his will that the knowledge 
and fear of his name should be maintained in Israel. 
For this end, " he established a testimony in Jacob, 
and appointed a law in Israel." But on whom was 
it to operate for the end designed ? Not surely on 
those who paid no kind of regard to it. Such despi- 
sers of God were likely to feel the severest effects of 
his displeasure ; because when he wrote to them the 
great things of his law, they were counted a strange 
thing. In Jeremiah's time, the law of the Lord had 
no effect upon the minds of men, because they would 
not give it an attentive hearing. " To whom shall I 
speak and give warning that they may hear?" said 
the weeping prophet :, " behold their ear is uncircum- 
cised that they cannot hearken ; behold the word of 



OF UNCONVERTED SIXNERS. 215 

the Lord is unto them a reproach, and they have no 
delight in it." 

He commanded the fathers to make known his tes- 
timony to the children, that they might know the 
Lord, and set their hope in him. Can it then be 
imagined, that they were not more likely to set their 
hope in God, when their parents did every thing in 
their power to communicate the knowledge of the 
works of God to their posterity, than if they had 
been quite silent ? If this is the case, God imposed 
on his people a very useless trouble. 

" Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel 
to every creature," said our Lord to his disciples ; 
" He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved." 
Go, and make all nations disciples. Who will say 
that they might as likely have become disciples, al- 
though the apostles had never executed their com- 
mission, or although the people amongst whom they 
went had not given them a hearing?" .Mark xvi. 15, 
16. Matt, xxviii. 19. 

2. Consider who those nations are amongst whom 
saints in every age have been found. 

The people of Israel in Moses* days were a very 
-tiff-necked generation. They would not believe in 
God, although daily miracles were wrought among 
them ; yet, where were so many saints to be found 
as amongst them ? Name that place of the world 
where they dwelt. Jethro, Moses 5 father-in-law, 
appears to have believed in the true God. Perhaps 
there were some remains of piety amongst Abraham's 
descendents by his concubines. Yet we know that 
JPethro's faith in God, if it was not produced, was 
greatly increased by what he heard from the mouth 



216 ON THE CONDITION ANB DUTY 

of Moses, Exod. xviii. II. The body of the Is* 
raelitish nation was little better than the heathens 
around, yet there were some amongst them that fol- 
lowed the Lord. I see no reason to think that there 
were no real saints amongst the men whose carcases 
were doomed to fall in the wilderness. If Moses 
himself forfeited the possession of the good land by 
his unbelief at Meribah, might not some saints of an 
inferior class expose themselves to the same calamity, 
by unbelief, at Kadesh Barnea ? But whatever was 
the behaviour of the other tribes, we know that there 
were many of the tribe of Levi who observed God's 
word, and kept his covenant, Exod, xxxii. Mai. ii. 

The generation that entered into Canaan was a 
much better generation than that which came up out 
of Egypt. The Lord had led his people forty years 
in the wilderness, " to humble them, and to prove 
them, and to do them good in their latter end f* and 
doubtless there were many to whom real good was 
done. God shewed them, under Moses and Joshua P 
many proofs of his power and faithfulness, which 
made a deep and indelible impression upon their 
hearts, " and they feared the Lord all the days of 
Joshua, and of the elders who over-lived Joshua , 
who had seen the wonderful works of the Lord to 
Israel." They enjoyed peculiar advantages in what 
they saw with their eyes. But the wonders of God 
are still to be seen in his sanctuary, and those who 
wait at wisdom's doors are likeliest to see God's pow- 
er and his glory, Psal. lxxvi. 1, — 3. 

But why should I spend time in shewing, that the 
great means by which God hath gathered sinners to 
Christ in every age is his word, and especially, his 



OP UNCONVERTED SIGNERS. §17 

word proclaimed by his servants, the prophets, the 
apostles, and other extraordinary or ordinary minis- 
ters of his word ? All who have the least acquaint- 
ance with the history of religion know that faith has 
ordinarily come ;i by hearing, and hearing by the 
word of God." The preaching of the gospel surely 
can do no good where it is not heard, The success 
of the apostles lay not amongst those who did not 
take the trouble to come and hear them, but among si 
those who attended their ministrations. " A great and 
effectual door was opened to Paul at Ephesus. There, 
many were disposed to attend his ministrations, and 
many of those were made to believe to the saving of 
their souls. " In whom ye also trusted," says he, 
" whea ye heard the word of truth, ihe gospel of 
ir salvation," Eph. i. 13. 1 Cor. xvi. 9* 
Those who were best disposed to hear without pre- 
judice, and to think on what they heard, were the 
persons amongst whom the apostles expected and 
enjoyed most success. The Berean Jews, says Luke, 
"were more noble than the ;,, in 

that they received the word with all readiness of 
mind, and searched the Scriptures daily whether 
these things were so." What quence? 

" Therefore many of them believed," Acts xvii* il 9 
12. 

And k is manifest, both from Scripture and expe- 
rience, that the gospel at present is most succes 
in the conversion of those that are trained up to a 
regular attendance upon its ordinances, and are pre- 
served by its influence from irreligious and dissi, 
courses of life. Suppose that one man is trains 
from his infancy to attend and to venerate the i 

T 



21S ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

tutions of religion, and to keep himself from the 
pollutions of the world, though still a stranger to the 
grace of God: Suppose another man to live in the 
habitual contempt of religious ordinances, and to 
indulge himself, without restraint, in the gratification 
of his lusts ; is there eo^al probability of the salva- 
tion of either ? The Scriptures expressly say the 
contrary. " Train up a child in the way that he 
should go, and when he is old, he will not depart 
from it." Prov. xxii. 6. These words certainly im- 
ply that there is great hope to be entertained of a 
child who receives a religious education. The grace 
of God, it may be hoped, will crown with success 
the labours of the parent at one time or other of his 
life ; for the season must be left with God, and those 
truths which are fixed in the judgment may have 
their proper effect at some other time, if they have 
it not at present. But is there the same hope of a 
young man who is suffered from his childhood to gra- 
tify his corrupt inclinations, without restraint ; or 
who casts off all restraint, that he may " walk in the 
way of his heart and in the sight of his eyes V Does 
not the wise man say, " He that walketh with wise 
men shall be wise ; but a companion of fools shall be 
destroyed. The rod and reproof give wisdom ; but 
a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame* 
None that go unto her return again, neither take they 
hold of the paths of life," Prov. xiii. 20. xxix. 15. 
ii. 19. 

3. The vast importance of a sound and faithful 
ministry to the souls of men is a plain proof that 
*hose unconverted persons are most likely to be 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 219 

brought into a state of salvation who enjoy, and who 
dili^entlv use the means of grace. 

The apostle Paul lays down rales in a variety of 
passages, for the choice and behaviour of bishops. 
For what end? Because it is of the utmost impor- 
tance to precious souls, that those who rule in the 
church should be well qualified for their offices, and 
make full proof of their ministry. This reason he 
himself assigns : ;; Take heed to thyself and to thy 
doctrine, continue in them; for in doing this, thou 
shah both save thyself and them that hear thee/* 
He could not command success to his ministrations. 
It was not to be expected that all his hearers would 
be saved. But the more careful he was of his doc* 
trine and practice, the mere success he might ex- 
pect : not certainly among those who made no use 
of his ministrations, but amongst those who heard 
the word from his mouth. 

In Jeremiah's time, little sfood was done hv the 
prophets, but much more might have been done bv 
them if they had behaved as prophets ought to do : 
for then it might have been expected that the people 
would have heard them with reverence, would have 
trembled at the divine judgments denounced against 
them, and would have repented of their wickedness. 
11 If they had stood in my counsel. '? says God, " and 
caused my people to hear my words, then they should 
. turned them from their evil ways, and from the 
evil of their darners.*' Jer. xxiii. 32. The ancient 

O J 

priests were of an opposite character to these false 
prophets, and their success was what might ha^ 
been expected. Their descendents in the days of 
Malachi were the scourge of the poor people, ba- 



220 OK THE CONDITION AKD DUTY 

cause they had degenerated from the example of their 
fathers. " The law of truth was in his mouth," in 
the mouth of Levi, i. e. of the priests who sprung 
from Levi, " and iniquity was not found in his lips. 
He walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn 
many away from iniquity* But ye are departed out 
of the way 5 ye have caused many to stumble at the 
law 5 ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, -saith 
the Lord of hosts." 

4. The charges brought against gospel despisers^ 
and the punishment threatened to them, are eviden- 
ces that they enjoyed special advantages for salvation. 
" It shall be less tolerable for them in the day of judg- 
ment, than for Sodom and Gomorrah." Why ? Be- 
cause they were exalted to heaven in the enjoyment 
of distinguishing privileges, they must be thrust down 
to hell for misimproving them. 

God frequently told the Jews that he had sent to 
them all his servants the prophets, rising up early, and 
sending them ; and yet they hearkened not to his 
voice. Does not this imply, that he had reason to ex- 
pect they would hearken to his voice ? Jer. xxv. 

u I saw that there was no man," says God, " and 
I wondered that there was no intercessor," Isa. lix. 
Surely God knew beforehand that no intercessor 
would be found. But this manner of expression points 
out, that it was very surprising no intercessor was 
found among a people distinguished by such privi- 
leges. 

" I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it 
"brought forth wild grapes." God knew beforehand 
what sort of grapes it would produce. When he says, 
that he looked for good grapes, he certainly mean?. 



&F UNCONVERTED SINNER?. '221 

that there was good reason to expect the best grapes, 
after he had done so much for his vineyard. Because, 
contrary to all reasonable grounds of hope, nothing . 
was produced worthy of the husbandman, he threatens 
to lay his vineyard desolate. 

If he had reason in ancient times to expect good 
fruits from his care bestowed on his vineyard, he has 
now better reason to expect them, when he hath sent 
not his servants only, but his Son to receive the fruits. 
w Surely they will reverence my son." If they still 
disappoint such reasonable expectations, he will send 
forth his armies and destroy them, Mark xii. 6. 

But enough, and perhaps too much, has been said 
on a point so clear ; and yet it may be useful to an- 
swer a few objections. 

It may be asked, in the first place, how T this doctrine 
consists with what has already been proved ; that 
there is no necessary connection between moral se- 
riousness and saving grace : and, that our salvation 
entirely depends on the free and sovereign grace of 
God. " 

To this I answer, that the sovereignty of God's 
grace, and the absolute freeness of his purpose of elec- 
tion, do not interfere with the use of means. The ve- 
ry reverse is the truth. God hath chosen the objects 
of his free love to salvation, " through sanctificatlon 
of the Spirit, and belief of the truth." But the belief 
of the truth is wrought in men by the word read or 
preached, and the sanctification of the Spirit is through 
the same word, Rom. viii. 2. Eph. v. 26. 

The reason why those who Wait at the doors of wis- 
dom are likelier to obtain life than others, those who 
frequent the house of the foolish woman, is. that God, 

T 2 



. 222 ON THE CONDITION AtfD DUTY 

the only author of wisdom and holiness, commands 
the blessing in Sion, even life for evermore. " Wher- 
ever I record my name r " he says, " I will come unto 
you, and bless you." " I will cause the showers to 
come down in their seasons, and I will make all the 
places about my hill a blessing." Are not those then 
most likely to meet with God, and to be refreshed by 
his showers of blessing, who frequent the places where 
he uses to dispense them ? 

" The Lord knows them that are his." His eye is 
upon them before they are brought within the bond 
of the covenant. He sends his gospel to them. He 
ordered Paul to continue at Corinth amidst opposi- 
tion and persecution, because he had much people in 
that city. There were many elect souls at that time 
in Corinth, who were not yet believers ; and faith was 
not to be wrought in the hearts of every one of thena 
in one day. Paul must abide patiently amongst them 
till their day of grace was come. Whilst they contin- 
ued in unbelief, God was dealing with them by his 
word, and preparing them by the working of his Spi- 
rit, through his word, to receive with gladness the 
tidings of salvation, when they were penetrated with 
a sense of their sinful and miserable state* 

It will be asked by others, whether it is not giving 
encouragement to sinners to rest in their attainments, 
without an interest in Christ, to inform them that they 
are more likely to attain salvation, than persons who 
are utter enemies to all goodness and to all the means 
of reformation. 

To this question, I would answer by another. — 
When our Lord said to a certain Scribe, " Thou art 
not far frojn the kingdom of God," did he give that 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 223 

Scribe any encouragement to continue in his present 
condition ? Might he not say within himself. ' My 
condition is not so desperate as that of the Pharisees 
and Sadducees whom Jesus has this day confounded, 
by detecting their hypocrisy and malice. I hope, 
therefore, that I will never be ranked with them in 
another world, although my condition in this should 
undergo no change V Was it not much more likely 
that he would say within himself, ' There is hope in 
Israel concerning me, I am not far from the king- 
dom of God, yet I am not in it. How dreadful will be 
my case, if, after all, I should come short, through un- 
belief, of the blessings of that kingdom to which I am 
declared to be near V 

No doubt, a bad use may be made of the doctrine 
before us. Men may, in the confidence that their con- 
dition is hopeful, rest satisfied with themselves, and 
come short in the end of that salvation which was 
within their view. Men may abuse any truth to their 
own perdition. But whose fault is it if men will min- 
gle deadly poison with the most salutary food, and 
make that which should have been for their good a 
snare to their souls ? 

The proper conclusion from this doctrine is, that 
sinners should not give way to despondency, but 
;i seek the Lord whilst he may be found, and call up- 
on him whilst he is near." Was the blind man en- 
couraged to sit still at a distance from Jesus, when 
the multitude cried, " Be of good comfort, the Master 
ealfeth for thee?" 
- It is too true, that many who attend upon gospel 
institutions trust to their diligence, and, conceiving 
that they are in a very hopeful condition, satisfy 



224 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

themselves with their attainments. But, is it not also 
true, that as many in proportion of careless sinners 
satisfy themselves with their condition, and are per- 
suaded that they are in little or no danger of eternal 
condemnation ? We cannot pretend to count the num- 
ber on either side. But it may reasonably be con- 
cluded from the state of human nature, that self-con- 
fidence and carnal security abound a great deal more 
with the most careless sinners than with those who 
discover a solicitude about their salvation. 

It is natural for men to trust to themselves, that they 
are righteous, or that they have it in their power to 
acquire, when they please, what is wanting to their 
eternal security. How is this confidence in our own 
righteousness, or in our own powers, to be counter- 
acted ? Surely the word of God is the most effectual, 
or rather the only means, to give men just views of 
iheir real state. Those, therefore, who are most con- 
versant with the word of God, are most likely to know 
what sort of persons they are. Every part of it is full 
of convincing arguments of the badness of the state of 
^regenerate sinners. 

When men neglect the means of grace, they have 
a teacher at home who tells them that they are, per- 
haps, not quite so good as they should be, but that 
they have many good things to plead in their own fa- 
vour. This pleasing doctrine gains an easy belief, 
because there is no voice to contradict it. Their con- 
sciences may sometimes be awakened to remonstrate, 
but they will not speak with a loud voice, or give a 
certain sound, because they are not enlightened by 
the word of God. It is no less natural for those who 
diligently attend the means of grace to flatter them- 



Or UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 225 

selves ; but they live within the sound of a voice 
which is often crying in their ears, " Except a man be 
born again, he cannotenter into the kingdom of hea- 
ven." u Cursed are they^that are of the works of 
the law." 

This indeed is one of the great advantages which 
unregenerate persons derive, or may derive, from the 
diligent use of the means of grace. " Whatsoever 
doth make manifest, is light.- 5 The word of God is 
that light which manifests men to themselves. Those 
who will not come to the light, " flatter themselves in 
their own eyes, till their iniquity is found at last4o be 
hateful," when the knowledge of it comes too late. 
Those who come near the light, are likely sooner to 
discover what they are, and whose they are, and what 
is still wanting in them. 

Careless sinners know not how unfit they are for 
doing those things which they have never attempted. 
They hear of the deplorable corruption of human na- 
ture ; but they believe not, or do not consider what 
they hear. We find that after all that Scripture says, 
and all that philosophers or men of experience say of 
the vanity of the world, few will believe that happi- 
ness is not to be found in present things till they have 
tried it. Those men will not be persuaded that they 
cannot believe, by their own powers ; that they can- 
not repent ; that they cannot pray, till by frequent 
experiments they obtain a powerful conviction of their 
weakness. And who are they who obtain this exper- 
imental conviction ? The answer is easy. The Spirit 
of God can work this conviction in any man as speedi- 
ly as he pleases, and, without the convincing opera- 
tion of the Spirit, experience itself will leave menui> 



226 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

convinced. But the Spirit of God deals with us as 
rational creatures. He makes us not only to see, but 
to feel our weakness, that we may place the glory of 
our strength in God alone. 

Another objection to the doctrine in question is, 
that the best w r orks of natural men are sinful, not ex- 
cepting their most ardent prayers, and their most ear- 
nest endeavours to turn to God- How then can they 
be of any use to the doers of them ? 

The Scripture, it must be allowed, teaches us that 
we are all as an unclean thing ; that much sin cleaves 
to the best works of the best men ; and that there is 
no real holiness in the best works of unregeneFate 
persons. The flesh lusting against the spirit in the 
saints, sullies their best works ; but in sinners there is 
nothing but flesh, in which there dwells no good thing, 
and by which nothing spiritually good can be perfor- 
med. " To the defiled and the unbelieving, there is 
nothing pure, but their very mind and conscience is 
defiled." 

If the inference drawn from this consideration be, 
that sinners ought to place no dependence on any 
thing they have ever done, or may resolve to do, we 
allow that it is perfectly just. Woe to the man whose 
hope is placed in an heart that is deceitful above all 
things. We must be abhorred of the Lord, if we 
presume to hope for his favour as the recompense of 
works proceeding from a heart wholly depraved by 
sin, Prov. xv. 29. 

But it must be allowed that all the works of unre- 
generatc men are not equally sinful. When Ahab 
clothed himself with sackcloth, and walked softly under 
^ sense of divine wrath, the Lord said unto Elijah, I 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS, 227 

<{ Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself ? I will not 
bring my wrath upon his house in his own days, but 
in his sons days/' If Ahab had shewed a haughty 
contempt of the prophet's threatening, would God 
have spoken such words I' 

The king's repentance was not of a godly sort. He 
mourned for his sin, not for the offence given to God 
but for the damage done to himself and to his house. 
Had he repented of his sin from a gracious principle, 
Jezebel would no longer have been able to hold him 
in her chains. Like penitent Manasseh, he would 
have endeavoured to undo all that ever he had done 
for the service of Baal. It is too plain that he was 
still the same man on the whole that he had formerly 
been 5 and yet his humiliation obtained from God the 
lengthening of his tranquility, 1 Kings xxi. 

Jehoahaz prayed unto the Lord when he saw the 
misery of Israel ; and the Lord heard him, and rais- 
ed ud a Saviour for Israel. Of the same Jehoahaz 
i. 

we are told, that he turned not all his days from the 
sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, w T ho made Israel 
to sin. Why then did he pray to the God of Israel 
for help in the distress of his people ? He was moved 
with a tender concern for his people. He was deep- 
ly grieved for the affliction of Joseph. He was sensi- 
ble that no help could be found in idols, or in an arm of 
flesh, and therefore he prayed earnestly to the God of 
Jacob, and his prayer was heard. Compare his con- 
duct with that of Ahaz, king of Judah. In his distres- 
ses, he sought not unto the Lord. When the prophet 
Isaiah offered him a sign, either in the depths below, 
or in the heights above, he would not tempt the Lord 
his God, He expected no help from him. He valu» 



228 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

eel do promises but the promises of the king of Assy* 
ria. He did not seek the God of his father Jotham^ 
who waxed mighty because he trusted in the Lord, 
but the gods of Syria that were not able to protect 
their own country from the arms of his powerful ally 
and tyrant. " Ahaz in the time of his distress, tres- 
passed yet more against the Lord, This is that king 
Ahaz," 2 Kings xiii. 2 Chron. xxviii. 

Both these princes were bad men ; but was their 
behaviour equally displeasing to God in the day 
when trouble came upon them ? Was he not more 
displeased with Ahaz for his contemptuous refusal of 
a sign, and for his confidence in flesh, and wood, and 
stone, than with the prayers of Jehoahaz ? No man 
will say so that regards the authority either of com- 
mon sense, or of the word of God. 

Although no unregenerate person can perform any 
work that is spiritually good, yet the religious per- 
formances of men of this description are very dif- 
ferent from one another. There are some who, for 
pretence, make long prayers, and seek only to re- 
commend themselves to men, whilst they pretend to 
worship God. There are some who fast to smite 
with the fist of wickedness. There have been some 
who preached Christ out of strife and envy, and 
there are still some who serve not our Lord Jesus 
Christ, but their own bellies, in the performance of 
sacred ministrations. The wickedness of all such 
persons is extreme. They insult the Most High un- 
der pretence of serving him, and may, too justly, be 
compared to that detested traitor who betrayed the 
Son of man with a kiss. 

It is not of persons of this description that we 



OP UNCONVERTED SINNERS 22 9 

tvow speak, but of those men who, though not re- 
newed in the spirit of their minds, wish to be saved. 
They cannot serve God with godly sincerity, hut 
they endeavour to serve hirn with all that sincerity 
which results from a real regard to their own eternal 
welfare. Their desires after the blessings of grace 
are not pure and spiritual, but selfish and carnal. 
Their works at the best are but dead works ; because 
they have no principle of spiritual life, without which, 
it is impossible to serve the Holy God with accep- 
:e. 

But undoubtedly there is a great difference between 
the principles that actuate gross hypocrites who wil- 
fully trifle with God, and those by which men are 
actuated, whose consciences are awakened and ac- 
tive, though not purified by the blood of Jesus Christ. 
We are not sure that Abimelech, king of Gerar. was 
a saint, although he had God-s own testimony for a 
certain part of his behaviour, that he had acted in 
the integrity of his heart, Gen. sx. for there is a 
species of integrity which may be the fruit of natural 
principles. Without sanctifying grace, we may de- 
sire to be approved of God our Judge ; and, acting 
under the influence of this desire in our rdigious 
services, (although we are not entitled to the accep- 
tance of our works, as if they were agreeable to the 
divine will,) yet the doing of them is not so bad as 
the omission of them would be. We read of some 
kings of Judah who did " that which was right in the 
sight of the Lord, but not like David their father," 
or, " not with a perfect heart." Whilst they con- 
tinued to behave in this manner, they were not treat- 
ed by God like those other kings who are said to have 

U 



230 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

done " that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.^ 
They enjoyed the blessings of Providence as long as 
their outward conduct was conformable to the law of 
God, although they never lived under the influence 
of spiritual principles. Their services were not ac- 
cepted in the sense in which the good works of be- 
lievers are accepted. God did not, and could not, 
approve of them as services well pleasing to him 
through his beloved Son ; but they were sustained 
for what they really were. They were not regarded 
by him as evidences of love to his own name and to 
his law, but as works conformable, in the matter of 
them, to his law, and expressions of those inward 
principles of conduct from which they proceeded. 

It is not generally believed, nor is it probable, that 
the men of Nineveh generally repented unto salvation^ 
at the preaching of Jonah. They saw that they were 
exposed to destruction by their iniquities ; and to 
prevent, if possible, their ruin, they turned from the 
wickedness of their ways, and from the violence that 
was in their hands. If repentance unto salvation 
had been the attainment of the body of the people, 
it is not to be supposed that they would have become 
so wicked as they were in the days of Nahum, or of 
Pul, king of Assyria. Yet God pitied them when 
he saw their repentance at the preaching of Jonah, 
and repented of the evil which he thought of doing " 
unto them. If they had not repented in the manner 
they did, vengeance Would have been taken upon 
them at the time named by the prophet Jonah. For 
at what instant God speaks concerning a nation or a 
.kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to de~ 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 231 

stroy, the judgment denounced must be executed^ 
unless that nation or kingdom repent, Jer. xviii. 

Some would make all sinners equally criminal. 
This is not the judgment of God, who says that " Je- 
iioram did that which was evil in the sight of the 
Lord, but not like his father or mother ;" that Ho- 
shea, the last king of the ten tribes, " did that which 
was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the 
kings of Israel that were before him/' From the 
history of Hezekiah, we have reason to believe that 
the reason (one reason at least) why Hoshea's wick- 
edness is spoken of with this limitation is, that he 
was not so great an enemy to the institutions of God 
as his predecessors. He suffered his people to come 
up to Jerusalem, to worship the Lord according to 
his appointment. 

This leads us to the principal view in which we 
are at present to consider the good works of those 
unregenerate persons, which are the fruits of moral 
seriousness. In these works, they make use of those 
divine ordinances which God hath appointed for the 
conversion of sinners, as well as for the edification of 
them that believe. They, in some sen'se, approach 
unto God, Isa. lviii. 2. We often read in the book 
of Leviticus of the approaches made to God by the 
priests, the Levites, and the people. To these ap- 
proaches, ceremonial purity was required. Spiritual 
purity was indeed requisite to an acceptable approach 
unto the Lord. Yet those who came nigh unto his 
dwelling-place, were said to come nigh unto the 
Lord, whether they did it in a right manner or not ; 
because God dwelt in his sanctuary. Now the Lord 
still dwelleth in Sion. He hath said, " This is my 



%3% ON TIIE CONDITION AND DUTY 

rest ; here will I dwell for ever ; for I haye desired 
it, 55 It is impossible that unregenerate persons should 
come unto God himself as their exceeding joy, 1 
John i. 6, But they may come unto his tabernacles ; 
and that God who loveth the gates of Sion may com- 
mand his blessing upon them. They attend those 
institutions by which God gathers to himself those of 
his chosen people that are not yet gathered to him* 
They make frequent use of the word of God in pri- 
vate, by reading it, by talking of the truths of it, 
by thinking of them. Now the word of God is able 
to save the soul, because it is the ministration of the 
Spirit. He makes the gospel the power of God for 
salvation to every one that believeth, and he makes 
it the seed of faith to his chosen. 

It may be asked in the fourth place, Are not many 
attentive hearers of the word left to perish, whilst nol 
-a few despisers of ordinances have been effectually 
called ? 

That many who hear the gospel, and attend upon 
other divine ordinances, are left to perish, is too evi- 
dent. And although we cannot pretend to determine 
the eternal state of individuals, it is too certain that 
many have been suffered to perish, who once attend- 
ed the ordinances of grace with great seriousness. 
There is nothing in natural seriousness that necessa- 
rily accompanies salvation. The only security of the 
holiest men in the world from perdition, is that ever- 
lasting covenant which is ordered in all things and sure. 
The highest attainment of natural men does not raise 
them above the curse of the law, and the power of 
sin. No man at the last day will have it in his pow- 
er to say, that he did every thing in his power to ob- 



OF UNCONVERTED SINXERS. 23vj 

tain salvation, and came short of it ; but many will 
say in that day, We did many things required from us, 
and sought to enter in at the strait gate, and were not 
able. These persons will not be found worthy of 
excuse. Christ will say mnto them, 4i Depart from 
me ; I never knew you, ye workers of iniquity." 
They cannot pretend that they merited any favour 
at God's hand, nor will they be able to offer any ex- 
cuse for their innumerable offences. Many of the 
first shall be last, and of the last first. But whilst the 
last that become first must ascribe the happy change 
to divine grace, the first that are found to be last must 
leave their complaint on themselves. 

From the whole, we may see what reason we have 
to bless God for the Bible, and those precious ordi- 
nances that we enjoy. Although we should be still 
found in a state of sin, we are under an administra- 
tion of grace. We are favoured with the hearing of 
ihe joyful sound, and the Bible tells us, that " it is the 
power of God for salvation to every one that be- 
Heveth. n 

We have reason to bless God, that he has determi- 
ned us to hear the joyful sound. " Faith cometh by 
hearing." If faith has not come by our hearing, we 
ought to mourn for our stubborn unbelief; but when 
our eyes are opened to see our sin and misery, we 
ought not to be insensible to our privilege. When 
our Lord saw many of the Samaritans coming to con- 
verse with him, he said to his disciples, " Lift up your 
eyes and see the fields that they are already ripe 
unto the harvest : and he that reapeth receiveth wa- 
ges, and gathereth fruit unto life everlasting." If there 
were no more probability of the salvation of those per- 
*U S 



234 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

sons who come to hear the gospel, than of those who 
spend in idleness the most precious seasons of grace, 
what did our Lord mean by calling his disciples to 
look with pleasure at the multitudes that were coming 
to him ? or why did he compare them to the fields, or 
corn, already ripe for the sickle ? or why did he al- 
lege that the prophets, by speaking beforehand of 
the coming of the Messiah, had prepared the way for 
the apostles, that they might labour with hopes of 
success ? 

The doctrine under consideration is an encourage- 
ment to ministers of the gospel to preach the word in 
season and out of season, especially when men disco- 
ver a disposition to hear the w r ord. At Antioch in 
Pisidia, the apostles Paul and Barnabas were grieved 
to find the word of grace and truth which they spake 
despised by their own countrymen ; but they were 
glad to find that the Gentiles were not only willing, 
but earnestly desirous to have these words preached 
unto them. They hoped that some, though perhaps 
not all of them, would believe the gospel when they 
heard it, and this hope was not disappointed, — 
u t They were glad and glorified the word of the Lord ; 
and as many as were ordained to eternal life believ- 
ed," Acts xiii. 

Ministers are excited to " give themselves to readings 
to exhortation, to doctrine ; to take heed to themselves 
,and to their doctrine ; because in so doing they shall 
both save themselves and those who hear them." 
This argument to diligence and faithfulness is drawn 
from PauPs exhortations to Timothy, and, in him, to all 
who are put in trust with the gospel. The command- 
ment of their divine Master is a sufficient motive to 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS, 235 

the utmost exertion in ministerial duty ; and if this 
had been the only argument used by the apostle, it 
might have been pretended, that, as success entirely 
depends upon the will of God, who can perform his 
work with equal ease by 'any kind of instruments or 
means, it is of no consequence to the salvation of souls, 
whether ministers are furnished with knowledge, and 
diligent and exemplary in doing their duty, or not. 
But the apostle plainly declares, that ministers may 
expect to save not only themselves, but their hearers, 
by the due performance of their work. 

We justly blame the Roman Catholics for praying 
in an unknown tongue. The apostle Paul shews 
the absurdity of this practice. How shall the unlear- 
ned and ignorant say Amen to your prayers and prai- 
ses, if they do not understand what is said ? " These, 55 
says he, " might edify thyself, but thy brother is not 
edified if he does not understand thy words. 55 But if 
there is no more probability of the conversion of 
those who duly attend, than of those who despise the 
ordinances of religion, we might, without any preju- 
dice to the souls of other men, go further than the 
Roman Catholics. We may preach sermons to them 
in Greek or in Latin, with the same hope of convert- 
ing sinners as if we preached the plainest and most 
eloquent sermons that they ever heard in their own 
language. But Paul teaches us rather to speak five 
words in a known tongue, than ten thousand in one 
which we do not understand. If we speak in an un- 
known tongue, he says, an unlearned person will 
think we are mad. But if we could prophesy, un- 
believers would be convinced, and acknowledge that 
God is in us. We cannot indeed pretend to prophe- 



238 OBT THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

sy ; but the train of the apostle's reasoning proceeds 
on a principle applicable to ordinary ministrations of 
the gospel, according to Christ's appointment* 



PART III. 



Let us now proceed to give some directions to 
unconverted persons who are solicitous about thei? 
salvation, and dare not neglect the use of means ; 
but who often tremble, lest, after all they do, or all 
that has been done in them by the Spirit of God, they 
fall short of eternal life. 

Of what use, it may be said, are directions to such 
persons, if they can do nothing to please God ? All 
that I will say, or heed to say, in answer to this 
question, is, that the holy writers give many coun- 
sels to such persons, All that I design to say to them 
is deducible from what Jeremiah, and Amos, and 
other inspired men of God, say to them* " Sow to 
yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy ; for it is 
time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain right- 
eousness upon you.— For thus saith the Lord unta 
the house of Israel, Seek ye me and ye shall live* 
Seek the Lord and ye shall live, lest he break forth 
like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and 
there be none to quench it in Bethel : ye who turn 
judgment into wormwood, and leave off righteous- 
ness in the earth, seek him that maketh the seven 
stars and Orion., — Save yourselves from this unto- 
ward generation," Jer. iv. 8. Amos v. 18, 19. Hos» 
x. 12. xiv. 1, — 3, Acts ii. 40. 



OP UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 237 

We know it is our duty to believe in Christ, will 
persons say under a deep concern about their salva*- 
tion. We have, under a pressing sense of our duty 
and necessity, endeavoured to comply with the gra~ 
cious commandment of the Lord, but without suc- 
cess. We find not power accompanying our endea- 
vours. Fears and corruptions prevail against us. 
We are undone, if God do not reveal his arm for 
our help ; but we cannot pretend to have any right 
to expect his help, any more than others of our pe- 
rishing race. What shall we do, or what can we do f 
When we would believe, unbelief prevails against 
us. We may well cry out, i; Lord, help our unbe- 
lief. 5 ' But, alas ! we cannot say that we believe. 

These words may perhaps be the complaints of a 
■trembling believer : for there may be real faith where 
there is but little strength or comfort. ' ; They shall 
tremble after the Lord from the west, 15 says the pro- 
phet. If we follow Christ with trembling hearts, 
" he will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the 
Smoking flax ; he will bring forth judgment unto vic- 
tory." 

But if it be really the case, that the Lord has not 
yet wrought in you to will and to do, the following 
cautions or directions may be useful to you. 

1. It is highly proper that you should still remem- 
ber what your duty is, though conscious of inability 
to perform it. It is your duty to believe on Christ, 
for God hath commanded you to believe on the name 
of his Son Jesus Christ. Your duty is not to be es- 
timated by your powers, but by the revealed will of 
God. The nature of sin lies not in doing what you 
had power to refrain from doing, but in transgressing 



238 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

the law. The law requires all men to be chaste and 
sober. Yet there are some men who have eyes full 
of adultery, and who cannot cease from sin ; or such 
a craving for the pernicious draught, that they must 
swallow it down if it should cost them both their 
lives and their souls. Are they not sinners before 
God, because they want power to restrain their inor- 
dinate lusts ? Are you not sinning against God, when 
you do not obey the command of believing on the 
name of his Son, because you cannot believe ? The 
reason that you cannot, is, because you will not. 
" How can ye believe," said Christ, " that receive 
honour one of another, and seek not the honour that 
cometh from God only ?" In this reproof, our Lord 
does not extenuate the crime of those who did not 
believe. The fault was in themselves. There was 
something which they preferred in their hearts t© 
Christ. There is something, too, which you prefer 
to him, when the evil heart of unbelief makes yon 
to depart from him. 

But to what purpose is it to torment ourselves with 
an impressive sense of duties which we cannot per- 
form ? It may serve a good purpose. It is certainly 
much better that men should feel uneasiness than 
tranquility, while their duty is unperformed. No~ 
thing is more dangerous than to sleep in the midst of 
extreme danger. Ephraim was sensible of his ina- 
bility to turn to God when the rod of God was upon 
him, and at the same time sensible that he was loud- 
ly called to return. What was the consequence? 
He cried unto him that was able to help him, and his 
cries were heard. " I have surely heard Ephraim 
bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me. 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 239 

and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the 
yoke. Turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; for 
thou art the Lord my God. Surely , after that I was 
turned, I repented, 1 ' Jer.jxxxi. 18, 19. 

Remember that it is your present duty to believe 
on Christ. Augustine confessed that he sometimes 
prayed to God to convert him, but with this reser- 
vation, " Lord, not yet." He wished to have some 
more gratifications to his sinful lusts, before he was 
completely turned to the Lord from his evil ways. 
Thus, there are many who will confess that it is 
their duty to believe on Christ ; but the time is not 
yet come when, without presumption, they can lay 
hold on eternal life. They must attain some quali- 
fications which they do not yet possess, before Christ 
can be expected to welcome them, although he hath 
said, " Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise 
cast out." 

Why should you think that certain qualifications 
are requisite to procure your acceptance by Christ ? 
Do you not know that your salvation must be of 
grace ? Have you considered what it is to be saved 
by grace? Do not you know that you oppose the 
grace of God, while you seek some qualifications in 
yourselves to entitle you to a participation of the 
benefits of Christ ? 

It is indeed certain, that without renouncing all 
self-dependence, you cannot believe on Christ. Con- 
fidence in the flesh is inconsistent with rejoicing in 
Christ Jesus, Phil. iii. 3. But how deplorable is our 
perverseness ! We endeavour to make out some kind 
of title to the salvation of Christ, by convictions that 



240 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

we never can have any title to him, but that which 
himself affords us in his worcL 

The devil does all that he can to prevent that humi- 
liation under a sense of sin, which may dispose the 
sons of men to cry out for a share in the salvation of 
Christ. But when he cannot prevent them from see* 
ing and feeling that they must perish without him, he 
endeavours, by his subtility, to pervert to their ruin 
those impressions which the law of God has made 
upon them. They would make their sense of poverty 
a price to purchase the blessings which are to be 
bought without price 5 and when they are conscious 
that their impressions of their own unworthiness are 
but faint, they must not promise themselves any thing 
from the Lord till they are more effectually humbled. 

Are you sensible that you must perish if you have 
no part in Christ, and that it is only sovereign mercy 
that can give you a part in him ? Why do you seek 
any further ? the Lord is gracious because he is 
gracious, and to whom he will be gracious. Paul said 
unto the Philippian jailor, "Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.' 5 When the 
poor man heard PauPs discourse concerning Jesus, 
he believed, with all his house. He did not say, I 
must wait till I be more deeply humbled before I be- 
lieve on Jesus ; nor did Paul tell him that he must 
spend some time under convictions of sin before he 
could have a right to believe on Jesus. These words, 
" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," were a sufficient 
warrant to him, for they were the words of God by 
the mouth of his servant, and what was said to the 
Philippian jailor, is said to all who hear the gospel* 
who read the Bible. 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 241 

What should hinder you from doing what God eom~ 
Kiands you to do ? from receiving what God gives 
you to possess ? from putting away an acknowledged 
sin, the greatest and most dangerous of sins, by which 
you make God a liar, in rejecting his testimony con- 
cerning Jesus Christ our Saviour? Do you reckon it 
presumption to comply with the w r ill of God, to ac- 
cept of a pardon held out (o you by infinite grace ? 
You wish to be more deeply humbled. You cannot 
be too deeply humbled ; but you are never sufficiently 
humbled till you renounce all self-dependence, that 
you may depend wholly on Christ, till you are per- 
suaded that it is safer and better to do what is right 
in God's eyes than what is right in your own. You 
will not, indeed, make a cordial application to the 
great Physician, without a full conviction that your 
condition without him is desperate. But you are not 
already fully convinced, that without him you are un- 
done. Your impressions, you say, of this melancholy 
truth are too slight. They may be so. They are so.. 
And the more you know of yourselves, you will be the 
more disposed to think so ; because you will the more 
clearly discern that your humiliation on the account 
of sin, is out of all proportion inadequate to the vile- 
ness and demerit of your offences. If you refuse to 
be saved till you know the full extent of your vileness 
and wickedness, and till you think yourselves suffi- 
ciently impressed with the sense of it, you must forev- 
er refuse to be saved. 

Fear not that your convictions of the vileness and 
demerit of sin will vanish when you believe on Christ* 
Your terrors will indeed be abated or removed, but 
your sense of your own vileness will be deepened. 

W 



342 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

You will best know what unknown malignity there is 
In your transgressions when you know and believe the 
love of God in Christ Jesus. You will " remem- 
ber and be ashamed, and never open your mouth any 
more for shame, when God is pacified towards you for 
all that you have done." 

Do you hope to procure mercy fcy any thing that 
you can do, whilst you refuse to believe on Christ ? 
Know you not that the mercy of God is absolutely 
free ? that Christ is the only propitiation ? that, " with* 
out faith, it is impossible to please God ?" and that 
the wrath of God abideth upon the souls of men, 
whilst they refuse to believe on the name of his only 
begotten Son ? u To-day, therefore if ye^will hear the 
v©ice of Christ, harden not your hearts." Let no 
imaginations of your hearts, however plausible, pre- 
vail on you to reject the counsel of Christ against 
yourselves. The gospel, when it produces its proper 
fruits, casts down imaginations, and every high thing 
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, 
and brings every thought into subjection to the obe- 
dience of Christ. 

2. Remember that your strength for this duty is in 
God and not in yourselves. " No man can come un- 
to me," said Christ, " except the Father which sent 
me draw him." These words were spoken to an as- 
sembly consisting in a great measure of unbelievers. 
He lets them know that they never would believe on 
him without light and strength from on high. " It is 
written in the prophets, They shall be all taught of 
God. Every one therefore that hath learned of the 
Father, cometh unto me." 

Do not think that a sense of inability in yourselves 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 243 

will be an effectual obstruction to the success of your 
endeavours. Why did our blessed Lord, who knew 
how to speak all his words in season, speak of men's 
natural inability, in a discourse in which he exhorts 
them to believe on himself, if it was improper that 
they should be reminded of their own weakness ? 
Our great loss in every instance of our religious be- 
haviour, is, that we are apt to trust in ourselves ; and, 
when we feel our own weakness, to despoad, as if that 
could never be accomplished which cannot be ac- 
complished in our own strength. At Kadesh-Barnea, 
tire children of Israel refused to march against the Ca- 
naanites, because they wanted courage and strength 
to fight with the sons of Anak. They would not hear- 
ken to Caleb and Joshua, and Moses, telling them that 
God would be their strength and their salvation. 
Thus, through unbelief, they came short of the pro- 
mised rest. " Let us labour to enter into God's rest, 
that we may not fall after the same example of un- 
belief." 

Many complain that they have often endeavoured 
to comply with God's call to believe on the name of 
his Son ; but an evil heart has still prevailed against 
them. They do not see therefore what good end 
will be gained by renewing their endeavours. They 
find that their strength is but weakness ; for when 
they seek to enter in, they are not able* 

Remember what our Lord said to his disciples when 
they said unto him, " Who then can be saved ?" 
" With men indeed it is impossible, but with God all 
things are possible. 55 It is God that must work all 
our works in us. When we forget this important 
truth, we can do nothing. But when we are weak 



244 ®¥ THE CONDITION AND DITTY 

then we are strong, if we can be persuaded that the 
grace of Christ is sufficient for us. 

" It is God that worketh in you both to will and to 
do of his good pleasure." What then ! are we to do 
nothing because God must do every thing in us ? For 
this very reason, we must work out our own salva- 
tion with fear and trembling, because it is God that 
worketh in us. 

Your endeavours to lay hold on eternal life have 
hitherto proved vain, because you have forgotten 
that God is your strength and your salvation. You 
say that you have been endeavouring to trust in 
Christ. For what were you endeavouring to trust 
in him ? for righteousness, for pardon, for salvation ? 
But have you considered that you must trust in him 
for strength as well as for righteousness ? He is your 
Saviour from sin, as well as from condemnation ; 
jour Saviour from unbelief and impenitence, as well 
as from those other evils which fill you with grief. 
Surely in the Lord have I righteousness, say you ? 
But you ought likewise to say, Surely in the Lord 
Jiave I strength. Blessed are the people that know 
ihe joyful sound ; because the glory of their strength 
is in him, and in his favour shall their horn be ex- 
alted. 

Perhaps you will allege, that you would think of 
your duty with more alacrity if your strength were 
placed in" yourselves, because you would then exert 
it at your pleasure, and would meet with no disap- 
pointments when you were labouring to enter into 
God's rest, If these are your thoughts, you have 
yery different thoughts of God's gracious covenant 
bom- those of David. " He hath made with me an 



Or UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 245 

everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure ^ 
for this is all my salvation, and all my desire.*' The 
covenantor grace could not be a surer covenant than 
the covenant of works, if our strength were in our- 
selves. Adam had power to keep the covenant o£ 
life if he had pleased. But his will was changeable, 
and he fell. Let us rejoice that God is become our 
strength and salvation. 

If you forget that it is not by your own strength, 
but by the strength of God, that you must be ena- 
bled to believe on Christ, one of these great evils 
will be the consequence : Either you will think that 
you have done the work of God when it is not done, 
and thus your self-confidence will be encouraged and 
increased ; cr by frequent disappointments of your 
endeavour?, you will be reduced to despondency, 
and say, There is no hope. But when you remem- 
ber that the work of faith must be wrought in you by 
God, you will be guarded against both these ex- 
tremes. You will be under less temptation, at least, 
to think that the mer^ exertions of your natural pow- 
ers have accomplished the desired change in your 
condition ; and when you find that you cannot do 
what you once thought was not very difficult, you will 
learn to distrust yourselves, and to set an high value 
upon those promises of grace that are every where 
found in the Bible. 

" This is the covenant, 51 says God, " that I will 
make with the house of Israel after those days : I 
will put my law in their hearts, and write it in their 
inward parts/ 5 By the law, we are to understand 
the whole doctrine of God, including the gospel. 
l>le that we are undone bv the breach of the 
W 2 



246 €>N THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

covenant of works, the covenant of grace must be all 
our desire ; and, according to this covenant, it is 
God that gives us faith, and disposes us to that obe- 
dience which is the fruit of it. He writes his law 
in our hearts, when he effectually determines us to 
believe on Christ, and to take his easy yoke upon 
us. Those, therefore, who take hold of God's co- 
venant, will trust in his arm. They will not mere- 
ly look for help from him as if they could do some- 
thing of themselves, but sensible that they are not 
sufficient to think any thing of themselves, it will be 
their desire and hope that he may work in them all 
the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of 
faith with power. 

3. Beware of deferring the duty of believing on 
Christ till you feel the power of the Spirit working 
in your souls. 

It is one of the great principles of our religion, 
that the only rule of our faith and practice is the 
word of God. There are some enemies of the truth 
who would have reason to be the rule of our faith 5 
and others who substitute a light within from the 
Spirit, for the infallible directory of religion. Such 
principles we renounce in our profession. God grant 
that our religious exercise may not be tinctured by 
them. " Happy is the man that condemneth not him- 
self in that which he approveth." 

We follow reason, and not Scripture, as the rule 
of our faith, when our practice is regulated by de- 
ductions which our own minds make from the truths 
of Scripture, instead of those conclusions which the 
Scripture itself draws. When we will not believe 
en Christ, because the Scripture says, that without 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 247 

Christ we can do nothing, we may act rationally in 
our own apprehensions, for it is very natural to think 
that it would be vain for a man who has no strength 
at all to attempt to put himself in motion. Thus the 
man with the withered arm, whom our Lord com- 
manded to stretch it out, if he had acted upon the 
principles of corrupt reason rather than faith, might 
have said to Jesus, ' If thou dost not heal me, do 
not insult me. Thou knowest that a withered hand 
cannot be stretched out by the man himself. Stretch 
it out for me, or let me feel life and power returning 
to it, and then I will stretch it out/ The poor man 
neither thought nor acted in this manner. It was 
Jesus who spoke, and Jesus was to be believed and 
obeyed in hope against hope. 

But we make the light of the Spirit within us the 
rule of our faith, when we refuse to do what God 
requires, till we find power sensibly communicated 
to ourselves. Will a minister preach to any good 
purpose, without the aid of the divine Spirit? and 
yet what would you think of a minister who should 
refuse to mount the pulpit till he felt the Spirit work- 
ing powerfully in him ? Would you not think that he 
was fit only to be a speaker in a meeting of Quakers ? 
And why should you require more sensible commu- 
nications of the Spirit in believing than ministers in 
preaching ? It has not seldom been found, that minis- 
ters have been eminently assisted by God to declare 
his truths to men, when they went forth to their work 
under dismal apprehensions that they would be left 
to expose themselves by their own weakness. And 
many, under a persuasion that it was their duty to 
believe, though sensible of utter inability, have been 



24* ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

enabled truly to commit their souls unto Christ, whilst 
they could not distinguish the work of the Spirit from 
the workings of their own minds. It was the Spirit 
of God that impressed upon their minds a sense of 
thd!r obligations to believe. It was the Spirit that 
disposed them to comply with the command of God, 
and to silence a thousand objections started by an 
evil heart of unbelief. It was the Spirit that secret- 
ly communicated strength to their souls, and enabled 
them to trust in the word of grace His influence 
was efficacious, and overcame every obstruction to 
the good work, although they could not satisfy their 
own minds, and far less assure others that they were 
partakers of such distinguished mercy. 

" Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and 
blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Fa- 
ther who is in heaven*" In these words our Lord 
told Peter what, if he knew before, he probably did 
not know so distinctly and with such certainty, as 
after our Lord gave this testimony of the divine ori- 
ginal of his faith. Peter first met our Lord in Judea, 
near the Jordan, and saw plainly that he was the 
Christ the Son of the living God. He met with him 
afterwards at the sea of Tiberias, where he saw such 
a proof of his divine glory in the draught of fishes* 
that he could not, without shutting his eyes, doubt 
whether Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. The 
evidence appeared so bright to him, that he wonder- 
ed every man did not see it. And yet Peter would 
have been as blind as other men, if the Spirit of God 
had not opened his understanding to the evidence of 
the truth. The disciples did not know all that the 
Lord had been pleased to do within their own hearts. 



OP UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 245 

When Jesus said to them, " Whither I go, ye know, 
and the way ye know," Thomas answered him, 
" Lord, we know not whither thou goest$ and how 
can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the 
way." If they knew Jesus, they certainly knew the 
way to God and heaven. " If ye had known me," 
said Jesus again to his disciples, " ye would have 
known the Father also. And from henceforth ye 
know him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, 
Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Je- 
sus, in answer to this request, lets him know that he 
•had already shewed them the Father. " Jesus said 
unto him, have I been so long time with thee, and 
hast thou not known me, Philip ? He that hath seen 
Hie hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, 
Shew us the Father ?" 

The Lord's way, in his providence, is often hid 
from our eyes. He passeth by us, and we perceive 
him not, because his operations are hidden under the 
veil of second causes. Every year we are witnesses 
to a thousand operations of the Spirit, whilst his 
agency is unobserved. When the desolations of 
winter are exchanged for the cheering verdure of 
spring, it is by the Spirit of God that the face of the 
earth is renewed. When we read of the mighty ex- 
ploits of Cyrus, king of Persia, at a time when he 
knew neither God nor his Spirit, he was the Lord's 
anointed. These noble Qualities which made him 
the delight of mankind, were the gifts of the Spirit. 
When your souls are possessed with a deep concern 
about your salvation, and your consciences deeply- 
pierced with a sense of your sins, the Spirit of God 
is operating upon your minds. Why then should you 



250 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

think that he cannot exert his sanctifying influence 
in ways not distinctly perceived by those on whom 
he acts ? Must the kingdom of God always come with 
observation ? " Verily thou art a God that hideth 
thyself, O God of Israel the Saviour," and thou hast 
good reasons for hiding thyself as well in works of 
grace as in other works of providence ! 

If no man with safety could believe on Christ with- 
out feeling sensible operations of the Spirit, where 
would be the glory of the word of God as a sufficient 
and complete rule of Christian practice? We could 
hot trust in it, without sensible signs to confirm our 
belief. Abraham asked a sign from God, but his 
faith was not suspended upon it. The word of God 
•was a sufficient and a sure ground. He staggered 
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but be- 
lieved in hope against hope, because God had spo- 
ken in his holiness. 

It is, no doubt, exceedingly desirable to know 
with certainty that your faith is wrought in you by 
the power of the Spirit. But you ought not to com- 
plain that God does not bestow all his favours at once. 
The Ephesian converts believed when they heard 
the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation ; and, 
after they believed, they were sealed with the Holy 
Spirit, the earnest of their inheritance. Christ en- 
courages us to pray for the Spirit. " If even ye, 
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
children, how much more shall your heavenly Father 
give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him !" Our 
Lord surely does not mean that we must pray for the 
Spirit, without receiving the Spirit as a spirit of faith 
to enable us to pray, Rom. viii. 26* But we are en- 



Dl UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 251 

joined by him to pray for the Spirit, because God 
giveth more grace to them who are already partakers 
of his grace. "When, by the influence of the Spirit, 
we p the Spirit, God will communicate more 

influences, and make us sensible of his powerful 
working on our hearts. 

4. Beware of losing any impressions which you 
have received of the importance of salvation. When 
awakened to a sense of the one thing needful, 
and convinced that without Christ they must perish, 
suffer the business or the pleasures of the world to 
steal away their hearts from thoughts of infinite im- 
portance to their souls, they suffer themselves to be 
hardened through the deceitiulness of sin, they im- 
pose silence upon their own consciences, they resist 
the Holy Spirit by whose agency their consciences 
were awakened, and what if they should quench the 
Spirit, and provoke him to say, •'• They are joined to 
their idols, let them alone !*' 

Some men will tell vou that religious impressions 
are dangerous to your peace, and even to your under- 
standing Some have made themselves unhappy, 
and others have lost their reason, by indulging gloomy 
thoughts about an eternal state : and therefore it is 
your wisdom and your duty to bend your thoughts 
into another direction. Why should you venture any 
further into the wide sea, than you can be sure of re- 
turning safe if a storm should rise ? 

I confess some have brought reproach upon reli- 
gion by the unwise indulgence of corroding thoughts- 
suggested bv some of its doctrines. Is religion to be 
blamed on that account ? Men's concern about their 
secular interest has a thousand times filled their days 



252 ©£ THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

with dissatisfaction, or deprived them of their reason^ 
for once that religion, misunderstood through igno- 
rance or folly, has produced these miserable effects* 
We call upon you to be duly concerned about your 
eternal interests, to think of the terrors of that state of 
misery which is prepared for the wicked, and to be 
deeply sensible of your own wretchedness, if you are 
still in a state of sin and misery. Can any thing be 
more reasonable ? Can any thing be more unreasona- 
ble, than to allege that men should build their happi- 
ness and comfort upon self- ignorance, upon inconsi- 
deration and error? Such foundations of peace are 
but the baseless fabric of a vision, which must vanish 
in a moment. 

If a man is dangerously sick, is it an act of friend- 
ship or of enmity to persuade him that he is well, or 
that his sickness is not of such consequence as to ren- 
der it necessary to call the physician ? If a man is con- 
demned to death, is it a kindness to him to draw away 
his thoughts from his condition, when it is possible 
that a pardon might be obtained ? You may think 
about your future state or not as you please, but un- 
doubtedly you are hastening to it. " Thus saith the 
Lord your God, Consider your ways ;" and who shall 
dare to say, Consider them not 1 

We do not teach doctrine that ought to inspire men 
with despondency. We tell them that they are con- 
demned by the law, but we tell them at the same time 
that there is forgiveness with God. We indeed say, 
that believers in Christ only share in this forgiveness, 
but we likewise say that all men are authorised to be-, 
iieve on Christ, and that however unable they are of 
themselves to believe, there is strength for. them in 



OF UNCONVERTED SIN>TSR5. 25S 

. •• who is exalted a Prince and Saviour 
to give repentance and remission of sins" to men. 

We warn men to beware of laying aside their in- 
quiries after salvation till it is obtained, but we are 
: m advising them to continue under ihe malig- 
;ence of desponding apprehensions. We 
m to receive and rest upon Christ, but we 
lg in any thing but Christ. 
He is the true resting place where God makes the 
weary to rest. He alone is " the refreshing^' of souls. 
Be thinking -at you are safe in your pre- 

>n 5 because you have felt strong desires 
salvation, and have been made deeply sensible 
that you need ,; abundance of grace, and of the gift 
rhteousness." What sort of desires are those 
h leave your minds at ease, without some well- 
-rounded hopes of obtaining what you desire ? or what 
is the value of your convictions of sin and misery, if 
you can recover serenity of heart without deliverance ? 
a we will believe that you are sensible of your 
nakedness and wretchedness, when you have 
no rest in your minds without coming to " buy of Christ 
gold tried in the fire that you may be rich, and white 
raiment that you may be clothed, and to anoint your 
-eyes with eye-salve that you may see." David 
" thought upon his ways," and he saw that if the Lord 
should have marked iniquity he could not stand. 
What then? Did he f: expel such painful 

Jjdrs from his or did he drown them in the 

or pleasure of the world i He would then 
haye acted rather like a Cain or an epicurean, than 
like David. He " waited upon Cod : *' his soul wai- 
led for God like them that wait for the morning, and 

X 



254 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

he hoped in God's word, and found relief, where only 
relief can be found, in that mercy and plenteous re- 
demption that is with the Lord. 

a Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep," says God to 
sinners ; " let your laughter be turned to mourning, and 
your joy to heaviness \V and yet we find Christ saying 
to sinners, " Gome unto me, and I will give you rest." 
These injunctions are not inconsistent with one anoth- 
er. You must be afflicted, and mourn, and weep, if 
the wrath of God lies upon you, till you obtain delive- 
rance from the burden which is heavier than moun- 
tains of lead. But you must not continue under this 
burden when relief is offered. The man-slayer, un- 
der the law, would tremble till he was safe within the 
gates of the city of refuge ; and till he obtained this 
security, it was good for him to feel that fear which 
was necessary to urge his flight to the place of safe- 
ty. When we believe on Christ, we " flee for refuge 
to lay hold on the hope set before us;" and till we 
are found in him, we are in constant danger. We 
have no assurance of having our natural life protrac- 
ted a single moment, and if we were sure of living for 
years, still we are under the curse of God's law till 
we are delivered from it through him who was made a 
curse for us. 

5. Beware of turning back to any of those habits 
of sin which have been embittered to you by your con- 
victions of the evil of your former conduct. 

Perhaps some may think that this exhortation is fit 
only to be given to those who have believed through 
grace, because none but they have been truly con- 
verted from sin to God. We are the servants of sin 
till we from the heart obey that form of doctrine into 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. SdS 

which we are delivered, Rom. vi. 16. We cannot 
mortify the deeds of the body but by the grace of 
the sanctifying Spirit, Rom. viii. 13, and therefore 
we cannot hope to resist with success the solicitations, 
of our sensual lusts, till by M the law of the Spirit of 
life in Christ Jesus, we are set free from the law of 
sin and death.' 5 

This is a certain truth, that whilst we are under the 
law, sin will retain the dominion over us. and work 
in our members to bring forth fruit unto death ; and 
therefore we need not hope to enjoy the glorious lib- 
erty of the sons of God, till his only begotten Son 
make us free. Yet the servants of sin may refuse 
obedience to some of its commands ; although its 
throne is established in their hearts, they may rebel 
in many instances of their conduct. We read of some 
unregenerate sinners that M have escaped the pollu- 
tions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ." If they have escaped 
the gross pollutions that stain the children of disobe- 
dience, they are not taken captive by Satan at his 
pleasure to such a degree as the men that are past 
feeling, and have given themselves over to licentious- 
ness. All men are the bond-slaves of this cruel ty- 
rant : but all are not so depraved as Ahab, who i; sold 
himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, 
whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.- 1 Nor was even 
Ahab himself so desperately bent to serve sin in all 
iis lusts as his wife. 

The apostle says, that men may escape the pollu- 
tions that are in the world through lust, and yet be en- 
tangled again and overcome, and that the last state 
of such men is worse than their first. They were 



256 ©N THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

still but dogs and swine and yet they enjoyed some 
kind of liberty when they had made their escape 
from the corruptions that are in the world ; for if they 
did not in a comparative sense enjoy liberty, how 
would they be again entangled and overcome ? 

In fact, we find by experience the truth of both 
these observations, however inconsistent they may ap- 
pear to superficial observers. We find it impossible 
to free our hearts from that disaffection to the purity 
of the law, from that love of the pleasures, or honours, 
or other vanities of the world, which is inconsistent 
with a supreme love to God. We find, however, that 
we may keep out tongues from speaking wilful false- 
hood, our hands from robbery and stealth, our mouths 
from excess in eating or drinking. We may even 
exercise some government over our thoughts. I speak 
iiowever of those only who have not sold themselves 
to work wickedness like Ahab ; for it is to be confes- 
sed, that some men by the licentious indulgence of par- 
ticular lusts, have given them such absolute power 
that they cannot cease from their habitual sins. 

When, through the power of conviction, and that 
strong desire of eternal life which is to be found in 
many of the servants of sin, you have been made to 
abstain from those sins in which you formerly walked, 
beware of returning to your former follies ; for if you 
do, says the apostle, your last state is worse than your 
first, 2 Pet. ii. 20, 21. He speaks of three different 
states of such persons. The first state preceded their 
knowledge of Christ. Their second state is the ef- 
fect of their knowledge of Christ. The last state is 
worse than the first, although whilst they were in that 
Mate they had not escaped the corruptions which are 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 257 

in the world through lust. They are apostates, and 
what sinners are more inexcusable than apostates 1 
God's soul can have no pleasure in them, because 
they have been vexing his Holy Spirit by their deter- 
mined opposition, not only to kis word, but to his op- 
erations upon their own hearts and consciences. 

You may see from this observation of the apostle, 
in what sense, and with what limitations, we are 
to be understood when we say, that there is more 
reason to hope well of unregenerate persons when 
they use the means of grace diligently, than of oth- 
ers who neglect them. i; The first,? 1 says our Lord, 
v * shall be last.** This awful saying is verified when 
the last state of men becomes worse than their first; 
because they return to the practice of those evils 
zh they had once renounced, against which they 
had formed strong resolutions, and made many vows. 
Their attainments are a great aggravation of their 
guilt* They are in equal danger either of falling 
under tormenting perplexities or despair, or, what 
is no better than despair, of sinking into absolute 
indifference about their salvation, or into downright 

fidelity. 

The apostle speaks of a danger of apostasy which 
renders men's condition utterly hopeless, Heb. vi, 
Although we have reason to think that the sin which 
he speaks of in that plaGe is uncommon, yet the pas- 
sage is an useful and necessary warning against apos- 
tasy of any kind. We must keep ourselves at the 
utmost distance from those sins which prove fa tai to 
all who fall into them. We cannot convert ourselves, 
we cannot do any thing that can insure our conver- 
sion ; but we have it in our power to make our cob> 

X 3 



25S ON THE CONDITION AND DtJTT 

dition a great deal worse* We gave ourselves many 
deadly wounds before we were awakened to a serious 
concern about our salvation. We can make no ex- 
cuse for the sins of that period of life ; but the sins 
into which we fall after God has been dealing with 
our consciences by his word and Spirit, are doubly 
inexcusable. Why should we rush, with our eyes 
open, upon the thick bosses of God's buckler ? Why 
should we vex that Holy Spirit, by whose grace 
alone we can be translated into the kingdom of God's 
dear Son ? 

Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy, addresses 
discourses full of heavenly eloquence to a people to 
whom he says, that " God had not given them eyes 
to see, nor ears to hear; 55 and yet he says that they 
had " cleaved to the Lord their God, 55 Deut. xxix. 4* 
iv. 3, 4. Some of them, it is certain, were parta- 
kers of the converting grace of God ; but great mul~ 
litudes were still in a state of blindness. Yet he 
speaks of all of them as of persons that had cleaved 
to God in opposition to idols. " Ye have seen what 
the Lord did because of Baal-Peor : for all the men 
that followed Baal-Peor, the Lord thy God hath de- 
stroyed from among you. But ye that did cleave to 
the Lord your God are alive, every one of you thi& 
day. 5 * Moses observes to them, and calls them to 
observe, what difference God had made between those 
who clave to Baal-Peor, and those who clave to the 
God of Israel, and earnestly exhorts them to keep 
themselves for all time coming from idols of every 
kind. This exhortation he enforces by arguments 
that might be expected to make a forcible impression, 
#ot only upon those few who had eyes to see, and 



OP UNCONVERTED SINNERS, 259 

ears to hear, those things which belonged unto their 
eternal welfare, but upon all who were not enemies 
to their present as well as future welfare, Deut. iv. 

We cannot keep ourselves from any sin, unless 
we are preserved by the restraining grace of God, 
and he bestows much restraining grace upon those 
who partake not of his sanctifying grace. Unrege- 
nerate persons may be kept from evils into which 
real saints are suffered to fall. Many unconverted 
persons never committed adultery or murder in their 
lives, although David was permitted to commit both, 
and certainly, in the general course of his life, was 
more chaste and humane than the proudest of those 
boasters who thank God that they are not as other 
men, not impure and sensual, but sober and benen- 
cent. 

It is by means suited to hup.ian nature, and to that 
particular condition in which men are, that God pre- 
serves them from sin. He preserves unregenerate 
men from sin by means of their consciences, and of 
those other principles of conduct by which their lives 
are governed. Thus Joash, king of Judah, was 
preserved from idolatry all the days of Jehoiada, by 
his reverence for that holy man, and by means of 
those motives by which Jehoiada enforced his in- 
structions. And we may warrantably pray that God 
would enforce upon our minds those motives which 
his own word suggests for keeping us from sin. Al- 
though we are by no means to satisfy ourselves with 
these favours of restraining grace ; which are no signs 
of God's special love, yet we are to account it a 
great mercy that he hath kept us from so many evils 
into which our corrupt lusts would have draw: 



260 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

And we are to pray that God would still keep us from 
every evil thing, and powerfully impress upon our 
hearts those arguments by which we may be kept 
from the evils that we ought to abhor. At the same 
time it is to be remembered, that the object of our 
requests must not be limited to restraining grace. 
When our Lord teaches us to say, " Lead us not into 
temptation, but deliver us from evil," he enjoins us 
to pray both for restraining and sanctifying grajce. 
We are not delivered from evil, or from the evil one, 
although we are kept from particular sins, if we are 
not set free from the law of sin and death. And al- 
though we are set free from the law of sin anddeath ? 
we may be suffered, like Peter, to fall by tempta- 
tion into great evils. 

The prayers and endeavours of unregenerate per- 
sons against sin, must be very defective in their prin- 
ciple. We ought not only to refrain from sin, but 
to abhor it ; not only to discontinue the practices by 
which we have provoked God, but to crucify the flesh, 
with its affections and lusts ; to pray for deliverance 
from it, not merely because it is destructive to our-r 
selves, but because it is dishonourable to God. But 
if he is not a good man who does not abhor evil, what 
must he be who commits uncleanness with greediness ? 
What extreme madness has taken possession of the 
hearts of those whom neither love to God, nor love 
to themselves, can restrain from the wilful gratifica- 
tion of their lusts ? 

6. Beware of sinking into despondency when sia 
has prevailed against you. 

Offensive as the workings of sin must be to God, 
when he is calling aloud to you by the voic^ of your 



SF UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 261 

consciences to turn away from all iniquity, yet who 
could be saved if they were unpardonable ? Paul 
himself confesses, that when he was under the severe 
discipline of the law, " -sin wrought in him all man- 
ner of concupiscence.' 5 It is the gospel alone that 
can reconcile our hearts to the law ; and whilst we 
are uninfluenced by that love which is the fruit of 
sin will find " occasion by the commandment 
to deceive us and slay us.' 5 

I wilful relapses into those sins of which you have 
seen the danger, will most of all disquiet your conscien- 
ces, whether they are spiritual or external acts of sin. 
If you have not only felt vain or vile thoughts spring 
up in your minds, but indulged them in sinful imagin- 
ations to the gratification of your corrupt inclinations : 
if you have not only admitted, but harboured with de- 
light those thoughts which evidently spring from an 
inordinate attachment to the lusts of the flesh, of the 
eyes, or the pride of life, you must be conscious that 
you have greatly offended that divine Spirit, who mad© 
you sensible of the great wrong you have done to 
your own souls by such sensual, worldly, or devilish 
imaginations in former parts of your life. You can- 
not be too deeply humbled for such impiety ; but you 
must not think that your condition is desperate. 
Wounds, though dangerous, and requiring the speedy 
application of a remedy, may be healed. God is rich 
in mercy. He delights to elorify his mercy- It was 
the glory of our Redeemer that he died for many who 
were his murderers : for many who long rejected and 
despised him, and persecuted him in Lis person or 
members. It is no less the glory of the Spirit to pu- 
rify many hearts that long refused to be made clean. 



262 Off THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

" How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity !" 
says God. " Behold I pour out my Spirit unto you, 
I make known my words unto you." 

It is a very grievous aggravation of sin to fall into 
it after men have been awakened and convinced. It 
is a greater aggravation of sin to be overcome by it 
after men have been made partakers of sanctifying: 
grace. But who could fee saved, if there were not 
forgiveness with God for such sins ? " Who is a god 
like unto our God, that pardoneth iniquity, and pas- 
seth by the transgression of the remnant of his heri- 
tage ? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he 
delighteth in mercy." — " Where the offence hath 
abounded, grace hath much more abounded." 

One sin cannot atone for another. You have sin- 
ned by resisting the Holy Ghost, and preferring the 
suggestions of abominable lusts to the holy motions of 
the Spirit. Be afflicted, and mourn, and humble your- 
selves to the dust ; but limit not the Holy One of Is- 
rael, by saying, " Thus far shall his mercy and pow- 
er reach, but no further." Can you number the mul- 
titude of his mercies ? When you bewail those of your 
sins that have done you most harm, forget not to be- 
wail an evil heart of unbelief. 

Perhaps, you may allege that you do not set 
bounds to the mercy of God. You know that the 
greatest sins have been forgiven by him ; but you 
find your own hearts so treacherous, that you despair 
of ever finding them any better than they have hither- 
to been. Your corruptions have so often gained the 
victory over your convictions, your resolutions, your 
vows, that no hope of amendment is left. What is 
the meaning of such despondent thoughts ? They 



OP UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 26o 

her that there is no hope for you but in your- 
selves, or that the God who must be your helper is 
lo deliver you. If you have hitherto depen- 
ded on y- is, your vows, your reso- 
lution --. -. t i no wonder that you have been disappoin- 
ted. Perhaps God has left you to yourselves, that 
you ; n no more to trust in yourselves, but in 

is 3 and who can 
make the : as he made yourbo- 

:s. Bat if all your hope is in God, do 
you supi shortened that it can- 

not save, after f e many wonders of grace 

in forme; 

The site tstioe's conversion is worthy of 

remembrance. There was a great struggle in his 
hear: :-n his conscience and his sinful inclina- 

ore he knew the grace of God in truth. He 
conversion, with a secret wish that 
not be presently heard. Life ap- 
peared to him quite insipid without the gratification 
;. But when he was renewed in 
:-r of his mind, by the blessing of God ac- 
companying the reading of Paul's exhortation to the 
Romans, chapter xiii. 11,- — i4. he detested his former 
more than he had ever delighted in them, and 
purer pleasure in the Scripture 
he had - :ed in the enjoyments of sense. 

7. Beware of those mistakes, which may embarrass 
exercise when you endeavour to believe 
■:. You know how natural it. is for man to err 
about the things of God. 

Beware of mistaking the nature of faith. James 
against placing it in a dead assent t< 



2B4 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

truth, James ii, 14, — 25. It must correspond to the 
testimony of God in his word concerning Christ. — 
God testifies, that he hath sent his Son to be the Sa- 
viour of the world. He offers Christ freely to you in 
the gospel, and calls upon you not only. to believe 
that salvation is to be found in him, but to trust in 
him for salvation to yourselves. Your faith is requir- 
ed to those declarations and promises of grace, which 
give you sufficient warrant to depend upon his blood 
and grace for your salvation from sin and misery.— 
The rebellious Israelites in the desert perished, be- 
cause they did not believe God and trust in his prom- 
ised salvation. We are warned against falling after 
the same example of unbelief. A promise is left to us 
of entering into God's rest. To us the glad tidings 
of a promised rest is brought, as well as to them, and 
the glad news will not profit us unless they are min- 
gled with faith, with a faith of the promise of rest.— 
If we are Abraham's children, we must walk in the 
steps of his faith, and we are expressly told that he 
and the other holy patriarchs saw the promises afar 
off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, 
Heb. ii. 

We must not only believe that the flesh of Christ is 
meat indeed, and that his blood is drink indeed, but 
we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. By faith 
we receive the reconciliation, and rest upon Christ as 
the foundation of all our hope. Thus did all the an- 
cient believers find joy and peace in believing, for 
their faith was the substance of things hoped for, as 
well as the evidence of things not seen. If God 
makes a grant of Christ and salvation to us in his 



UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 265 

word, shall we not possess that which the Lord our 
God gives us to possess ? 

It is a great mistake, as we have already observed, 
to think that we must seek a right to believe on Christ 
any where else but in the word of God, in which we 
are every where taught that our salvation must be the 
gift of God, the gift of his free and abundant grace* 
We must not, therefore, imagine, that we are first to 
ke our sins, and then -come with confidence to 
Christ, as if he were the Saviour, not of sinners, or 
not of great siuners, but of the righteous, or cf those 
sinners who have first done something to deliver 
themselves from sin. Our whole salvation from the 
power, as well as from the guilt of sin, must be in 
Christ. Doubtless it is our duty at all times to cease 
to do evil, and it is extremely dangerous, after we are 
awakened to a sense of the evil of our former sins, to 
persist in them. Although we have not sanctifying 
grace given us, we ought to improve restraining grace, 
lest we provoke the Spirit of God to desist from his 
strivings with us. But we must not imagine that we 
can recommend ourselves to Christ by our exertions, 
under the mere influence of an awakened conscience, 
to oppose particular sins, whilst the great sin of unbe- 
lief is voluntarily cherished, " To-day, if ye will 
hear the voice of Christ, harden not your hearts," 
either by persisting in your former habits of sin, or by 
giving indulgence to an evil heart of unbelief. You 
justify this leading provocation, if you think that you 
it not at present to believe on the name of the 
Son of God. If you think that it is not your duty to 
believe on Christ till you have laboured with success 
to rectify your bad habits, you think that unbelief is 

Y 



266 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

not at present your sin, but an acceptable instance of 
modesty in declining to receive the richest blessing 
which God can give, till you are better qualified to 
receive it. But is it not daring presumption, and not 
an expression of humility, to put away from you that 
great salvation which God holds forth in the gospel 
for your acceptance ? 

This dangerous error is closely connected with 
another, that ought no less to be guarded against, of 
imagining that the salvation of Christ is only a salva- 
tion from that misery which is the just consequence of 
$in, and not a complete salvation from every evil, 
and from sin as the greatest of evils* Why is our Re- 
deemer called Jesus ? Because he saves his people 
from their sins. Will you then pretend to begin the 
great work, by saving yourselves from some of your 
sins, and then coming to Jesus to save you from the 
rest ? Do you not know that Jesus is made of God un- 
to you sanctification, and that sin must reign in you, 
whatever efforts you make to subdue it, till you are 
made partakers of his death ? " He bare our sins in 
his own body on the tree, that we, being dead unto 
sin, might live unto righteousness, by whose stripes 
we are healed," Till we are healed by his stripes, 
6i from the sole of the foot, even to the head, there is 
no soundness in us, but wounds, and bruises, and pu- 
trifying sores that have not been closed, neither bound 
up, neither mollified with ointment." 

It would be tedious to reckon up all those errors on 
this important subject, into which men may be led by 
the workings of their own minds, when they are pres- 
sed with a sense of its necessity on the one hand, and 
of the difficulty of believing on the other* 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS- 267 

It might be useful for preventing or removing many 
of them to consider the reason why God has given 
h it holds in our salvation. " It 
is of faith, that it might 4be by grace/' To be sa- 
ved, faith: and to be saved bv 

o 

grace, are in effect the same thing. Whatever no- 
are entertained concerning faith, that derogate 
the richness and freeness of the grace of 
in our salvation, must be mistakes of a dangerous 
nature. And what can be more derogatory to the 
grace of God, than to suppose that we 
must forsake sin. in order to possess a better tit 
believe on Christ ; or that any of our attainments, 
in an unconverted state, can give us a better title 
than other men have to partake of the virtue of his 
blood ? The sovereignty of divine grace is one of its 
glories. All that seek salvation must acknowledge 
that God has a right to be gracious to whom he will 
be gracious, and to have compassion on whom he 
will have compassion. Applying this important truth 
to themselves, they must cheerfully acknowledge 
that there is nothing in themselves after their utmost 
attainments, and that there never can be any thing 
in themselves that would make it unrighteous with 
God, or inconsistent with his equity and 
to inflict leni all that vengeance which his law 

threatens to sinners. Surely o\;r apprehensions of 
the evil c ast be rery slight, if we imagine that 

all our tears, all our endeavours to reform our conduct, 
all the exertions of our activity in religious duties, 
can lay an obligation of any kind upon the 1 
High to exempt us from the punishment which is due 
to the least of them. 



268 ON THE CONDITION AND DtfTY 

Beware lest the pride of your hearts tempt you \m 
presume that God must either save you, or bring 
some cause of reflection upon his own goodness. 
What is there in any part of your conduct that can 
excuse such vain thoughts ? You have perhaps heard 
the word of God with attention and earnestness. You 
have felt much sorrow for your sins. You have been 
enabled to pour forth your hearts in importunate re- 
quests for pardon. You have continued long waiting at 
the gates of wisdom. Will you then be hardly dealt with 
after all, if God does not shew you that mercy which 
you so much need, and so earnestly implore ? Let 
me ask you one plain question. With all your other 
exercises of religion, have you joined confession of 
your sins ? With what temper of mind then did you 
confess them ? Under a heart-felt conviction that any 
one of them, although you had been chargeable with 
one only, must expose you to the everlasting wrath 
of God, unless free and unmerited mercy interpose ? 
If you have not thus confessed your sins, you have 
not seen how evil and bitter a thing sin is. If yo& 
have confessed them with this temper of mind, how 
do you imagine that the goodness of God is liable to 
impeachment, if you are not pardoned ? When we 
truly believe in Christ, we look for his mercy unto 
eternal life ; but his mercy is sovereignly free, and 
if our hope is founded in any degree upon any thing 
in ourselves, we, in so far, look for eternal life from 
our own qualifications and fitness to partake of it. 
Confidence in that mercy and grace which is descri- 
bed in the Scripture, excludes all confidence in any 
thing else. If it be the design of God in our salva- 



®F UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 26$ 

lion by faith to exclude boasting, that faith which is 
founded upon something which gives room for boas- 
ting, is not the faith which pleases God, The faith 
of the true seed of Abraham is a faith which gives all 
glory to God, and especially to the exceeding riches 
of that grace, which would cease to be grace, if it 
did not exclude works from all partnership with itself. 

The consideration of God's view in saving us by 
faith, may likewise rectify the uncomfortable error of 
supposing that, the greatness or special aggravation of 
our sins debars from that salvation which is offered in 
the gospel. Had I not sinned against light and con- 
viction, will one say, I would not be afraid of my wel- 
come reception by him who invites the labouring and 
heavy laden sinner to come to him for rest ; but I am 
such a sinful man, that Peter's prayer, however unfit 
for his own mouth, becomes my unclean lips, " Lord, 
depart from me.' 5 But is not David's prayer a better 
example for your imitation ? " For thy name's sake, 
O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." If it 
be Good's design in pardoning sin to glorify his own 
great name. u The Lord, the Lord God, merciful 
and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness 
and truth, pardoning iniquity, transgression and sin," 
why should the greatness of your sins preclude your 
access to Christ ? Should it not rather urge your flight 
to that refuge in which alone you can find protection 
from that wrath which you have justly incurred. 

Contemplate the glory of the divine holiness, and 
you will see that your faith must depend purely upon 
the grace and faithfulness of God in Christ Jesus •, 
and that all attempts to find, or to work out in your- 
selves any qualifications to embolden you to trust in 

Y 2 



270 OK" THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

God, are vain and presumptuous. Contemplate the 
riches, the freeness, the sovereignty of divine grace? 
and you will see that after all that you have done, 
there is hope for you in the Saviour of the chief of sin- 
ners, 1 Tim. i, 15, 16, 17. 

There is another error about faith which frequently 
embarrasses the minds of convinced sinners. They 
do not distinguish between a weak and a strong faith. 
They do not see how they can ever entertain such a 
persuasion of the certainty of their salvation as they 
find exemplified in the saints spoken of in the Bible ? 
and therefore they despair of obtaining the like pre- 
cious faith with those who now inherit the promises. 
But will you refuse to stretch out your withered arm 
at Christ's call, because you cannot exert it with all 
the force of a Samson ? It is God that must work faith 
in you, and that faith which is the work of his divine 
grace will not be despised by him, although unbelief 
is not expelled by it from your hearts. He was high- 
ly pleased with the strong faith of Abraham ; but he 
was pleased likewise with the weak faith of the disci- 
ples in the time that their Lord was with them on the 
earth. He often reproved them for their unbelief, but 
lie commended their faith and its fruits. ** Ye are they 
which have continued with me in my temptation. "— 
He greatly commended the faith of the centurion ; but 
he accepted the faith likewise of that poor man who 
cried out, " Lord, I believe ; help mine unbelief.' 1 — 
" The bruised reed he will not break, and the smo- 
king flax he will not quench ; he will bring forth judg- 
ment unto victory." 

8. Let no consideration induce you to neglect any 
of those means of grace which God hath appointed for 



OP UNCONVERTED SINNERS, 271 

bringing men into a state of salvation, and endeavour 
to improve them as means of faith. 

Some have carilled at the advice given to uncon- 
verted persons, that they -should endeavour to believe 
on Christ. ' The Scripture, 5 they will say, ' requires 
from us, not endeavours to believe, but faith itself $ 
and faith is not wrought in us by our own endeavours^ 
but by the power of the Spirit of God, whose gracious 
operation cannot be procured by the endeavours of 
men. 5 We do not deny any of these truths 5 but aver, 
that, when the Scripture calls us to believe, it requires 
from us endeavours to believe. Ought we not to en- 
deavour to do all that God requires us to do ? Was it 
not the constant endeavour of David to do what God 
commanded ? ^ I have inclined my heart, 55 he says, 
" always to perform thy statutes unto the end* I will 
lift up my hands unto thy commandments which I have 
loved. 55 What does he mean when he often tells us 
that he kept God 5 s statutes, but that it was his con- 
stant endeavour, and in some measure his attainment^ 
to keep them ? for w r e know that he did not keep them 
in perfection. He endeavoured, amongst other du- 
ties, to perform this duty of trusting in the mercy of 
God, the same in effect with the duty of believing in 
Christ, and on God through him. Other writers of 
psalms set us the same example of earnest endeav- 
ours to believe on God amidst difficulties and opposi- 
tions from the workings of an evil heart of unbelief. 
Psal. xlii. 5, 6. lxxvii. and Ixxxviii. 

" Let us labour to enter into that rest, lest any man 
fall after the same example of unbelief. 55 It is well 
known, that the word which we render labour, in that 
place signifies very ordinarily, to endeavour, and is 



272 @N THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

frequently rendered by our translators either by that 
word, or by words of similar import— to be diligent, to 
do one's diligence, to study, Eph. iv. 3. 1 Thes. ii. 17. 
2 Tim. iv. 7. Titus iii. 12, 13. 1 Tim. ii. 15. I do 
not complain of the translation in the text, for the 
word labour is of the same import with endeavour ; 
and it is very evident that, if we must labour or en- 
deavour to enter into God's rest, we must seek to en- 
ter into it by faith. 

Is it to believers only, and not to unbelievers, that 
the apostle directs his exhortation ? Unbelievers cer- 
tainly are the persons most likely to come short of 
God's rest, through the same example of unbelief y 
for all who truly believe unto salvation, are kept to it, 
through faith, by the power of God. 

We are called to seek righteousness by faith, to 
strive to enter in at the strait gate, to labour for the 
meat which endureth unto everlasting life. " If thou 
canst believe,' 5 said Jesus to a certain man, " all 
things are possible to him that believeth." Do not 
these well known expressions require us to use every 
endeavour to believe on Christ ? It is certain we do 
not fulfil our duty by mere endeavours. We must ac- 
tually believe in Christ, and we must believe in him 
under the influence of the almighty power of divine 
grace *, but that grace is often communicated to make 
men's endeavours successful. Although we cannot en- 
title ourselves to the gracious operations of the Spirit 
by our endeavours, the Spirit can carry on his own 
gracious work, by awakening us to a sense of eternal 
things, by convincing us of sin, by drawing our hearts 
towards Christ, in whom alone we can find pardon 
and rest. " Strive to enter in at the strait gate."™ 



OP UNCONVERTED SINNERS, 273 

s is a direction given us by the Saviour himself. 
actions :pposite to this must come from the 

e hearing of the word is one of those blessed or- 
dinances which God hath appointed for the conversion 
tners. The Lord's supper is a gracious institu- 
te. . ed irhic :take of 

r spiritual nourishment and gro -ace. — 

Yet believers themselves often tremble in ieir of 

this ordinance, lest they should be left to : 

gment to themselves ? by cc : Jiily 

le table of the Lord. The jpi 

itended for the bene ;.vor- 

thy. Without knowing our state to be good, we may 
attend upon it, and are welcomed to that provi 

a is prepared of God : goodness for the poor. 

Yet let not men imagine that there is little or no dan- 

-: God's word without duly imp:: 

must be sanctified in all them that come nigh unto 

bam. We must keep our feet when we go unto the 

God, and hear what God the Lord will sr: 
that we may believe what we hear, and do what he re- 
te will not be mocked by his creatures. 
The word preached did not profit many of the Israel- 
ites that left Egypt, because it was not mixed with 
.:. thai h : :d ifc Observe in what manner 
Paul preached to the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia. 
explains the docirine of faith, and calls upon them 
is to the remission of their sins ; but 
hat they must perish with a double des- 
truction if they despised the word of gra Be it 
known unto you, men and brethren, that through this 
man is preached unto you the forgiveness of 



274 OX THE CONDITION AND DUTr 

But beware lest that come upon you which is written 
in the prophets, Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and 
perish ; for I work a work in your days which 
ye will not believe though a man told it unto you," 
Acts xiii. 

Do you hear ministers explaining and enforcing the 
duties of the law ? hear with reverence and faith. 
Behold your face in that glass which is set before you. 
See what need you have to be washed in that foun- 
tain which is opened to you for sin and uncleanness. 
Do you hear them speaking of the excellent glories of 
the holiness and majesty of God ? see what need you 
have of a better righteousness than your own, that 
you may come without terror into the presence of him 
before whom the heavens are not pure. Do they 
speak of the person, the offices, the blood, the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ ? what precious encourage- 
ments to faith are set before you ! Are you not filled 
with indignation at that evil heart of unbelief which 
keeps you in your perishing state, at a distance from 
one so able, so willing to save you? Will you suffer 
such precious truths to slip away from your minds, 
without looking to Jesus for salvation, without ear- 
nest endeavours to commit your souls to him who is 
in every respect so well fitted to be the object of your 
confidence ? When you hear the motives and obliga- 
tion to faith set before your eyes, endeavour to un- 
derstand and feel the constraining power of these mo- 
tives that you may not be found enemies to God and 
to yourselves. 

The reading of the word of God is another means 
of salvation ; and although the preaching of the word 
is necessary, and is ordinarily blessed by God for con- 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 275 

version, yet the entrance of the word read, as well as 
preached, has often given light and understanding to 
the simple. The Bereans are commended for join- 
ing the reading to the hearing of the word. They 
received the word preached with all readiness of mind, 
and searched the Scriptures daily whether these things 
Were so. Therefore many of them believed, Acts xvii. 
12. Wherefore were eyes given us? Wherefore 
were we taught to read ? Will not our eyes, and the 
privileges of our education, testify against us before 
the tribunal of our Judge, if oar Bible is neglected ? 
But if we read, and do not obey and believe, the Bi- 
ble itself will be a swift witness against us. 

Religious converse is a means of salvation. Be 
swift to hear. The words of the wise are pleasant 
and healing words. " The man who walketh with 
wise men shall be wise, for the fruit of the righteous 
is like the fruit of the tree of life. What knowest thou, 
O husband, whether thou shalt save thy wife ? What 
knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy 
husband ?" Whilst we labour that we may not fall 
after the same example of unbelief spoken of Heb. 
iii. 4, we are required to exhort one another daily, 
lest any of us should be hardened through the deceit- 
iulness of sin. 

Pray for faith, and for that salvation which you are 
called to receive by faith, and be not moved by those 
vain reasonings which some zealots for their own pecu- 
liarities set in direct opposition to plain directions of the 
Spirit of God. " O Israel," says God to a very wick- 
ed generation of men, " O Israel, return unto the Lord 
thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take 
with you words and turn unto the Lord 5 say unto 



276 ®N THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us gracious- 
ly, so will we render the calves of our lips*" They 
are indeed required, in taking these words, to turn un- 
to the Lord by faith in Christ, and repentance towards 
God ; but they are not required to make sure work 
that they have received grace to believe, and repent 
before they take these word's into their mouths. If 
God enable you to use such words, with those senti- 
ments and affections which they are intended to ex- 
cite, the great work is accomplished. The prayer of 
faith is presented to God, and is graciously heard. 

But this is your fear, perhaps, that although you 
have taken these words into your mouths, and endea- 
voured to make them the expressions of your sincere 
desires, still you apprehend that the inward exercise 
of your minds is not suitable to them. This may be 
a mistake originating in your own anxiety. The dis- 
ciples, when they saw Jesus with their eyes after his 
resurrection, would not believe their own senses, but 
thought they had seen a spirit ; and when he had shew- 
ed them his hands and feet, they still believed not 
for joy, and wondered, till by eating in their pre- 
sence he banished every remaining doubt. They 
may, at their first conversion, have thought it im- 
possible that what was done in them and by them 
should be a reality. They called unto God, and he 
answered them, and yet they would not believe that 
he had hearkened unto their voice. 

Yet it may be true that you have often attempted 
in vain to present this prayer, or other prayers of 
the like import, to God, and it is certainly much to 
be desired to know whether you have prayed in faith 
or not. But there is another thing no less necessary 



OP trffCOJTVgRTED SHOTER*. 27? 

la persuade yourselves of, that your obligation to 
believe on Christ is not suspended on the resolution 
©f this question. Whether your faith hitherto is only 
such a faith as many are possessed of that afterwards 
fall away, or the faith of God's elect, it is unques- 
tionable that it is still your duty to believe. If you 
had been ten thousand times disappointed in your 
expectations, that the Spirit would work powerfully 
in you bj' his word, when you were endeavouring to 
make it the ground of your hope, still endeavour to 
believe and pray, and say not, like the tricked king 
of Israel, " This evil is of the Lord, why should I 
wait for the Lord any longer ?" Do you not remem- 
ber our Lord's parable for your encouragement to 
pray without ceasing, Luke xviii. ? Even the unjust 
judge, who neither feared God nor regarded man, did 
justice to the widow that wearied him with her im- 
portunities. He did not value the woman 5 he was 
angry with her because she would give him no rest : 
and yet her importunities had the desired effect. 
And may not God regard his own ordinance of im- 
portunate prayer, although prayer, as it comes from 
your vile mouths, cannot be pleasing to him ? Why 
does he prescribe forms of prayer for unconverted 
persons? Certainly for a' good and merciful reason. 
When Ephraim came before him with those petitions 
which God prescribed for him, Jer c xxxi. -18. he is 
heard, he is instructed, he is powerfully disposed to 
repent. He hears from God the language of more 
than parental tenderness. " Is Ephraim my dear 
son ? is he a pleasant child 1 for since I spake against 
Mm, I do earnestly remember him still 5 therefore 

Z 



273 ON THE CONDITIO!* AND DXTTY 

my bowels are troubled for him : I will surely have 
mercy upon him, saith the Lord.' 5 

" Ye that turn judgment into wormwood and leave 
off righteousness in the earth," says God by Amos, 
" seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion , 
that turneth the shadow of death into the morning/ 5 
The Ruler of the stars, he who turns the shadow of 
death into the morning, is the object to whom you 
are to address your prayers. He can give you songs 
in the night. The God who commands the light to 
shine out of darkness, can soon turn the shadow of 
death in your souls into the morning. f fi Wherefore 
he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and rise from 
the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." 

Meditate upon those truths by which God is plea- 
sed to work powerfully on the hearts of men. Per- 
haps, when you hear the word of God, and find your 
affections moved by it,* you would think yourselves 
happy if you had leisure and opportunity to hear 
these truths more frequently sounded in your ears, 
by which impressions have been made of a salutary 
tendency. But why do you not preach these truths 
over and over to your own souls ? David loved the 
habitation of God's house, and the place where his 
honour dwelt ; but when David was at a distance 
from the sanctuary, he could preach to himself, 
" Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art 
thou disquieted within me ? Hope in God." 

When you go away from church, take the sermon 
with you, unless you wish to gratify those evil spi- 
rits who desire to steal away the good seed of the 
word from those hearts in which it is sown. When 
Paul speaks of the gospel which he had preached to 
the Corinthians, he says to them that they were " sa- 






©F UNCONVERTED SINNERS, 2T9 

ved by it if they kept in memory what he preached 
to them, unless they had believed in vain.' 1 The words 
might have, perhaps, been better rendered, ' By 
which ye are saved, if jie retain, or keep hold of 
what I preached unto you.' He by no means intends 
to teach us, that our faith, or our salvation, depends 
on the strength of our memories; but to hold fast 
what we learn by the reading and hearing of the word 
of God, and to make it the subject of our meditation 
by day and by night. The Spirit, who is like the 
wind that bloweth when and where it lists, may give 
that efficacy to the words of his grace, when we are 
musing upon them, which we did not feel when we 
were hearing them from the pulpit. 

" Of his own will," says the apostle James, u be- 
gat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a 
kind of first fruits of his creatures* Wherefore, my 
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear." 
Not only those who are already begotten again by the 
word of truth, but those who are not yet begotten, 
should be swift to hear that word which has been to 
so many the word of eternal life. Why else should 
the apostle subjoin that admonition concerning the 
right hearing of the word ? u Be ye doers of the 
word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own 
selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not 
a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural 
face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and go- 
eth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner 
of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect 
law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a 
forgetful hearer, but a doer of the w r ork, this man 
shall be blessed in his deed." 

When men go away, and straightway forget what 



280 ON THE eeNBITION AND BETY 

was said, what benefit can they expect from it f None, 
but much damage for turning a deaf ear to the voice 
of God, and refusing to give his word a place in their 
hearts. When God himself speaks ta us in his law 
and gospel, we ought to hear him not once only, but 
again and again. " Set your hearts," says Moses, 
" to all the words that I testify among you this day* 
For it is no vain thing for you, for it is your life." 
Deut. xxxii. 

, Beware of suffering what you read and hear to pass 
unimproved by serious reflections, especially those 
doctrines or exhortations that are peculiarly fitted to 
make good impressions on your hearts, or are pecul- 
iarly suited to your present circumstances. But yea 
ought not to confine your meditations to those truths 
that you have recently heard or read. There are 
truths which ought never to be absent from your 
hearts. Think often of your misery and sinfulness ; 
of your own sins, and of their aggravations ; of the 
awful denunciations of the word of God against sig- 
ners, and against such sinners as you know yourselves 
to be. It is painful, but requisite for you to know and 
consider your ways, that you may know your need of 
Christ and of his salvation, and how absolutely neces- 
sary it is for you to come to him as self-ruined sinners 
that must be damned for ever, or owe their salvation 
V> sovereign grace* 

Let your thoughts dwell upon Christ the Saviour 1 , 
upon all that he did and suffered for -our salvation., 
upon the riches of the glory of the grace of God ma- 
nifested in him, upon the all-sufficiency of the God of 
grace as a portion, for men upon the grace and power 
of the Spirit of God, upon the interest that sinners of 
the human race have in Christ as a Saviour appointed 



OF VNCONTERTED SINNERS. 231 

for them by God, upon the unspeakable blessedness 
of all those who partake of the salvation of Christ, 
upon those gracious invitations and promises by which 
we are encouraged to trust in Christ. These are 
truths by which faith already has been wrought in the 
hearts of millions of sinners, upon some of them whilst 
they were hearing the gospel, upon others w T hilst they 
were in their own houses revolving what they had for 
merly heard or read. You cannot command the bles- 
sing of God to accompany your thoughts, but neither 
can you command the blessing upon your daily bread ; 
yet you eat it in the hope that God will make it nou- 
rishment to your bodily frame. By the gracious truths 
of God do men live the spiritual life, for upon them 
God commands the blessing, even life forevermore. 

The disciples of our Lord could not multiply the 
loaves which they distributed to the people, but they 
could give them to the multitude at the command of 
Christ, and Christ multiplied them in the distribution. 
Thus let us think upon the soul-nourishing truths which 
God sets before us, and he can make them spirit and 
life to our souls. He promises to take away the sto- 
ny heart, and to give the heart of flesh. For this, 
and other blessings, he will be inquired of by the house 
of Israel. 

You may perhaps complain, that you find yourselves 
at a great loss to order your thoughts, and that your 
heart will never be like the pen of a ready writer to 
meditate upon the truths of the gospel, till you are 
blessed with illumination in the knowledge of Christ 
by his own Spirit. For this you are to wait more 
than they that wait for the morning. But as the word 
of God is the means of illumination, you ought to fa* 

Z 2 



282 ON THE CONDITION AND DWTF 

miliarize it to your thoughts, whatever difficulty yum 
may experience in the attempt. 

You probably can repeat the Shorter Catechism*. 
This Jittle book will supply a rich store of useful 
thoughts to you* It will guide your meditations on the 
person and offices of Christ, the great things which 
he has done and will do for you, the precious blessings 
of the gospel, the nature of faith and repentance, and 
other important subjects in religion* 

It is not found difficult to young persons to commit 
this whole book to memory, and why should it be 
thought more difficult to commit to memory a consid- 
erable portion of the express words of the Holy Ghost. 
This would greatly assist you in the duty of meditation^ 
Some think it w r ould be very troublesome to learn so 
exactly a few paragraphs of the Bible ; but I am 
speaking at present to persons who have a deep con- 
cern about their salvation. You, I am persuaded^ 
will not grudge a little trouble that w r ill be useful to 
your souls. Those who are ready to perish for hun- 
ger will be glad of a very troublesome employment^ 
that they may procure themselves bread to satisfy 
their hunger. I take it for granted thai you take it 
for a matter of greater importance to labour for the 
meat that endureth to everlasting life, than for that 
which perishetlu 

You have probably been frequently reading such 
passages as give you the richest encouragement to 
look for good at the hand of the Lord. The calls and 
promises contained in the following passages,, well 
deserve to be kept and frequently revolved in your 
minds. Isa. xliii. 25. xliv. 22. xlv. 22, — 25. Jer. 
xxxi. 31, — 34* Ezek* xi. 18, — 20. xxxvi. 25,— 32* 
37. Micah vii. 18,-20. Hosca ru 1— 3* lir* 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 283 

throughout. John iii. 16, — 21. vi. 27, 28. Acts 
xiii. 38, 39. Rom. iii. 23, — 31. iv. 22, — 25. 2 Cor* 
v. 18,-21. I mention only a few; your own obser- 
vation will find out many more* 

Self-inquiry is another duty required by God* 
" Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith,'* 
and if you are not in the faith, what is the reason that 
you do not believe in Christ ? 

Persons too often think they are in the faith, when 
unbelief still reigns in them ; and some true believers 
through the weakness of their faith or knowledge, can- 
not be persuaded that the good work is wrought in 
them. They think that they could not be so much in 
the dark about their own condition as they are, if their 
faith were a reality. They find sin still working in 
their minds, especially when they would do good. 
They are still disquieted with doubts and fears y and 
therefore it appears to them that no good thing dwells 
in them. But there may be some good thing toward 
the Lord God of Israel where there is much corrup- 
tion. Do you really renounce all your own righteous- 
ness, seeking above all things to be found in Christ ? 
Do you gladly receive the word of salvation as the 
only ground of your hope towards God ? Are you shut 
up to the faith of Christ by a deep sense of your lost 
condition ? Do you seek relief only in Christ from the- 
guilt of sin, resolving that amidst all discouragements 
you Will hope in him ? " It is a good thing that a maa 
should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of 
the Lord \ for the Lord is ever good unto him that 
waiteth for him, unto the soul that seeketh him." 

But if ye do not yet believe on Christ, what is the 
reason why you will not come to him that you may have 
life ? Ask this question at your own hearts, and if they 



284 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

can render you a good reason, hold fast your unbe- 
lief, and refuse to let it go. If the reason is not good, 
you must condemn yourselves ; and if you condemn, 
yourselves, why do you persist in a conduct dishon- 
ouring to God and ruinous to yourselves ? 

The reason, you say, is not that you have not suffi- 
cient warrant from God to rely on Christ, but that 
you cannot make use of this warrant ; you cannot 
come to Christ except the Father draw you ; and, as 
he has not hitherto drawn you, it is impossible for 
you to come. 

But in what manner do you expect God will draw 
you to Christ ? Do you imagine that he will give you 
a visible sign of his drawing power ? or, that he will 
speak to you in the same manner as he spake to the 
ancient prophets, giving you some new revelation of 
his will, that you may be enabled to testify a due re- 
gard to that old revelation which you had from the 
beginning ?. 

When God draws men to Christ, he convinces 
them of their sin and misery, enlightens them in the 
knowledge of Christ, and persuades and enables 
them to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to them 
in the gospel. Are you then convinced that you 
justly deserve the condemnation of hell for your sins ? 
Do you see that Christ is an all sufficient and most 
gracious Saviour? Are you effectually disposed to 
approve of his salvation, as a salvation from sin as 
well as from misery, as a salvation for which you 
must for ever be indebted to his free and sovereign 
grace ? Does nothing on earth or in heaven appear 
so desirable in your eyes, as a share in the salvation 
procured by the blood, and applied by the Spirit of 
Christ ? Are not these views and dispositions, so dif- 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 285 

ferent from what you formerly felt in yourselves, in- 
dications of a divine power opening your hearts, like 
Lydia's, to receive the truth, and to receive Christ 
revealed in the word of truth ? The working of God 
is to be seen in the works which he does. His eter- 
nal power and godhead were seen, or ought to have 
been seen, by the heathens, in the things that were 
made by his power* And his operation upon the 
souls of men may be seen in those views of the mind ? 
in those tempers of the heart, which can be the pro- 
duction of nothing less than a divine power. 

Perhaps, you will say, if this be the case, I am 
still in my first estate, and can find no encourage- 
ment from the review of my own feelings or exercises 
of mind to believe on Christ. I know that without 
Christ I must perish. I have often felt earnest long- 
ings to partake of his grace. But I have not that deep 
conviction of guilt, that ardent desire of Christ and his 
salvation, as a salvation from sin as well as misery, 
which is felt by every genuine believer. What right 
then have I to conclude that I have any claim upon 
Christ, or a right to look for his mercy to eternal life ? 

To this I answer, that you may be mistaken, and 
you may be right in what you say of your own ex- 
perience. These who know best the- evil of sin, 
and the sinfulness of their own hearts, are least dis- 
posed to think that they are sufficiently humbled un- 
der views of their sinful states. Those, whose hearts 
are possessed by the most ardent desires after Christ, 
are most grieved that (heir desires after him are so 
faint and languid 5 for what desires of our narrow 
hearts after Christ bear any proportion to the infinite 
excellency and grace which are seen in him by a 
soul illuminated with his Spirit? 



286 ©ST THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

But have you forgotten that your right to Christ is 
to be found, not in your own hearts, but in the word 
of God ? I do not say that you have an interest in 
Christ, nor do I say that you have any better right to 
believe on Christ than the most thoughtless and pro- 
fane of your neighbours. What I say is, that you 
have the same right that every gospel hearer has, to 
believe on him, and that if you are awakened to a 
sense of your need of Christ, you are less excusable 
than your thoughtless neighbours, if you do not make 
use of this right. The reason why I have spoken of 
the manner in which God draws men to Christ, is not 
to afford you a pretence for deferring the duty of be- 
lieving till youfeel the evidence of God's drawing 
power, but to convince you that you ought not to sus- 
pend your duty upon such feelings. God gives you 
rich and sufficient encouragement in his word to hope 
/or the effectual working of his power ; but you must 
leave him to his own ways of exerting it, and endea- 
vour, without asking questions, to comply with his 
revealed will. When Jesus ordered the disciples to 
divide the five loaves amongst twelve or fourteen thou- 
sand persons, they did not tel! him that it would only 
expose them to derision from the multitude to comply 
with his orders, till he multiplied the loaves. They 
did what he commanded them to do, aad found that 
his commandment was not vain. He multiplied the 
loaves when the multitude received them. Thus, 
when God commands you to believe on the name of 
his Son, you must not say to him, ' First do what 
thou alone canst do, and give me good evidence that 
thou doest it, and then 1 will do what thou requirest 
me to do.' Say rather, ' It is a good thing that a 
man should both hope and quietly wait for the salva- 



OF UNCONYERTED SINNEHS. 287 

tion of the Lord. I will therefore endeavour to wait 
for his salvation, depending on his word, and com- 
plying with his will. 1 His command to believe on 
the name of his Son, is not designed to ensnare us. 
It is a gracious commandment, and blessed are they 
who are determined, by divine grace, to make his 
will the rule of their conduct, rather than the vain 
reasonings of their ow r n hearts. 

Do you allege that there is a great appearance of 
contradiction between our doctrine of man's inabi- 
lity to believe, and our injunction to believe ? Re- 
member that both the doctrine and injunction are 
God's, and not ours ; and God calls the things that 
be not as though they were. The Almighty may 
prescribe whatever he pleases with effect. He says 
to the deep, Be thou dry ; and dries up all the rivers. 
He says to the blind, See, and to the dead, Live. 

God commands men to believe on the name of his 
Son, and I know that I cannot come to Christ unless 
God himself draws me. What then ? Shall I refuse 
to comply with the call ? On the same ground I may 
refuse to do any thing that God requires me to do. He 
requires me to sanctify the Lord's" day. I cannot 
sanctify the Lord's day without the help of his grace. 
Yet I will not spend the day in sleep. I will not 
plough my ground or sow my seed on that holy day. 
I will rest from my labours. I will read and hear the 
word of God. I will endeavour to pray. I can do 
none of these things acceptably without grace from 
above. God will, I hope, make his grace sufficient 
for me. If he should, in his sovereignty, withhold 
that grace which I need, I cannot complain ; but I 
must mourn bitterly, because I lose that precious time 
which might have been employed to so great advan- 



288 ©N THE CONDITION ANB ©UT¥, &C. 

Cage. Yet, after all, my sin will not be so great; 
though left to myself, in my endeavours to serve God, 
as it would have been if I had profanely spent the 
day in my ordinary employments, or in wilful idle- 
ness, I know that I cannot present an acceptable 
prayer to God, if I am left to myself. Shall I there- 
fore never bend my knees till I feel an impulse upon 
my mind to prayer ? I cannot derive any benefit from 
reading the Bible, without spiritual illumination. 
Shall I therefore suffer my Bible to be covered with 
dust, till I perceive a divine light springing up into 
my mind ? Thus, I know that I cannot by faith enter 
into God's rest, unless God work in me the work of 
faith with power; yet I will labour to enter into that 
rest of God, lest I fall after former examples of un- 
belief. That God who says to me, " Labour to en- 
ter into this rest," is abundant in goodness and truttu 
It is for my benefit that he gives this commandment, 
and he hath promised to turn the heart of stone into 
an heart of flesh. 

Is there a contradiction between the doctrine of 
men's inability to believe, and the commandment to 
believe ? It may as well be said that our holy religion 
is full of contradictions in eveiy part of it. There 
is no more contradiction here, than between the doc- 
trine of unity and trinity in the nature of God, the 
doctrine of God's immutability and the incarnation of 
a divine person, the doctrine of Supreme Providence 
governing all our affairs, and the duty of diligence 
in our callings* All God's ways are right and wise. 
Our comments upon them are often vain. God best 
knows the conclusions that ought to be drawn from 
his own precious truths. 



DISCOURSES 



ON THE 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 



CONVERSION OF SINNERS, 



A a 



DISCOURSES, &c. 



DISCOURSE I. 

So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him thai 
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy^ Rom. 
ix. 16. 

THAT God, and not ourselves, nor any creature, 
must be our trust and cur hope, if we seek happiness 
in this world or the next, is abundantly evident from 
every part of the Scripture. • But that we may learn 
for what and how we are to trust in God, it is neces- 
sary for us to give earnest heed to those instructions 
which the word of God gives us, and, at the same time 
to attend carefully to the workings of our own proud 
hearts, that we may not, under their perverting influ- 
ence, depart from the living God. 

The unbelieving Jews trusted to themselves that 
they were righteous, and would not accept of the gift 
of righteousness set before them in the gospel. Thus 
Israel, which sought after the law of righteousness did 
not attain to it, because they placed their dependence 
on their own works, and not upon that grace which 
reigns through righteousness by Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Beware of imitating them, lest Christ become 
of no effect to you. u Whosoever of you are justified 
by .the law, ye are fallen from grace." 



292 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GSACE 

But to trust to your own strength is no less danger- 
ous than to trusf to your own righteousness. The al- 
mighty grace of the Spirit of God is no less needful 
for you than the redemption of Christ. Salvation is 
" not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but 
©f God that sheweth mercy.' 9 

All men, say some, have a sufficiency of grace given 
them for Christ's sake, who died for all. They may 
improve, or neglect, or misimprove it as they please* 
All that the Spirit of God has further to do with any 
man, is to spread motives before his mind, or to urge 
them,, perhaps, upon his heart. But it depends upon 
himself whether he will comply with the calls of the 
gospel, or the inward suggestions of the Spirit. 

If this is all that the Spirit of God finds it necessa- 
ry to do in the hearts of those that shall be saved, true 
believers are under great obligations, no doubt, to 
him ; but not under peculiar obligations. Many that 
shall perish for ever are as much indebted to him as 
the greatest saints. The songs of salvation in the 
heavenly world will be sung with joy, but they will 
not be ascriptions of praise to God for distinguishing 
mercy. What greater mercy was bestowed upon 
them, than upon many in the burning lake who were 
once enlightened, and tasted of the heavenly gift, 
but fell away never to be recovered to repentance ? 
Peter was not more indebted to God for eternal life 
than Judas, who heard the sermons of Jesus, and no 
doubt was a partaker of the Holy Ghost in the same 
way with others who will, at the last, say, " Lord, have 
we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name done 
many wondrous works ?" to whom he will say, " De- 
part from me, I know you not, ye workers of iniquity*' 2 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 293 

That our wills are naturally so perverse, and our 
power to do what is spiritually good is so entirely 
annihilated in our fallen state, that we cannot believe 
or repent #ithout the effectual working of the divine 
power to make us partakers of the divine nature, we 
have already shewed. But there is another doctrine 
on which I intend to discourse from this text, namely, 
That we cannot by moral seriousness, excited to the 
highest degree which can be expected from men, pro- 
cure for ourselves a title to that working of the di- 
vine power which is necessary for conversion. 

When the pride of the human heart is compelled 
to leave one of its strong holds, it will retreat to 
another. When men find that they cannot convex 
themselves, they will plead that they can do many 
things which give them a title in equity, if not in strict 
justice, to the favour of Gcd. They will so far re- 
form their conduct, that, if they cannot plead the 
righteousness of God as the ground of their hope, 
they may form a claim to his favour from his good- 
ness, which, they think, would be dishonoured if he 
did not shew his mercy to those who do as well as 
they can, although they do not all that they should. 

We may indeed found valid pleas for favour upon 
the goodness of God, and upon his righteousness as 
well as his goodness 5 but these pleas must be mana- 
ged by faith in Christ. The promises of the word 
of God, which u are yea and amen in Christ," are 
directed to sinners in general, that they may be war- 
ranted to take hold of God's eovenaaL And God 
will not be unrighteous, to forget or to violate his 
gracious promise to the meanest or weakest believer 
in Christ. But where there is no true faith in Christ, 
A a 2 



294 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

men have no actual interest in the promises that are 
addressed to them. A gift does not make any thing 
our property when it is not received. Unbelief says 
to God, 4 Let thy gifts be to thyself.' Can the un- 
believer then have any pretence to find fault with 
God, because he leaves him destitute of those bles- 
sings which he bestows in abundance upon them that 
believe ? Could that generation of Israelites which 
was delivered from the bondage of Egypt, blame the 
God of Israel because they were not brought into the 
promised land ? When they found that they must die 
in the wilderness, they repented of their rebellion % 
but the oath of God stood fast, that they should not 
enter into his rest. Unto us are the glad tidings of 
rest published, as well as to them, and those who be- 
lieve do enter into that rest ; but unbelievers must 
come short of it, not because there was not a promise 
left them of entering into that rest, but because their 
unbelief rejects the promise, Heb. iv. 1. 

That we may more clearly explain the point i® 
question, let us consider, 

I. What religious exertions may be found amongst 
persons destitute of saving grace. 

II. Whether such religious exertions give them any 
claim upon that grace, which is absolutely necessary 
to their salvation. 

I. What religious inclinations or exertions are to 
be found in persons destitute of saving grace ? 

" It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that run- 
neth ; but of God that sheweth mercy ." The mean- 
ing of these words may be, that men can neither will 
nor do, till God is pleased to work in them both to 
will and to do. It is certain that, without divine 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 295 

grace, the will of men, naturally perverse, cannot be 
truly inclined to faith and holiness. " Ye will not 
come unto me," says Christ, " that ye may have life.'' 
These words imply, that the great hindrance to the 
obtaining of life by Christ lies in men's own wills. 
They cannot, because they will not, come unto him, 
When his people are made willing in the day of his 
power, then, and not sooner, they are adorned with 
the beauties of holiness, John v. 40. Psal. ex. 3. 

It is no less certain, that men will not run, nor so 
much as walk a single step in the way of God's com- 
mandments, till God draw them and entice their hearts, 
John vi. 44. Psal. cxix. 22. 

Yet the most natural meaning of the words of the 
text seems to be, that however men may wish, or with 
whatever earnestness they may endeavour to be reli- 
gious, yet their wishes and efforts will be vain without 
•hat mercy from God, which he dispenses according 
to his own sovereign pleasure, ver. 15. 

According to this explication, men may both will 
and run without sanctifying grace, but neither their 
willing nor their running can change their unhappy 
state or bring the sovereign Disposer of the states of 
men under any obligations, from his equity or his faith- 
fulness, to bestow upon them that blessedness which 
they seek. 

1. There may be inclinations of a religious nature 
in unconverted persons. I do not say that there are 
holy tempers or dispositions to be found in them. Bui 
religion, of some kind, is so natural to man, that, even 
in his fallen state, he wishes to enjoy the favour of 
i. is Maker, and to have his wrath averted from him. 

" When the Gentiles," says the apostle, i; which 



296 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

have not the law, do by nature the things contained 
in the. law, these, having not the law, are a law unto 
themselves." If even amongst heathens, conscience 
powerfully prompted men to the performance of things 
enjoined by the law, must it not possess a greater au- 
thority, when it is enlightened and invigorated by the 
Scripture which so clearly reveals the wrath of God 
against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men? 

Our consciences must be " seared with an hot iron,' 5 
if we are not desirous to escape from the wrath to 
come. All of you, good and bad, wish to escape those 
everlasting burnings that are prepared for the ungodly. 
Your very appearance in this place is a proof that 
you desire to be saved. 

Unconverted persons may not only wish to escape 
future punishments, but to enjoy future blessedness 
in heaven. They cannot sincerely desire that bles- 
sedness which, according to Scripture, constitutes the 
felicity of the redeemed of the Lord. The enjoy- 
ments which this world affords, or which it might af- 
ford if they had every thing their hearts eould wish, 
are preferable, in their estimation, to the vision and 
likeness of the Lord God and the Lamb. But we 
know that we must die, and go either to the regions 
of perdition or of bliss ; and, if we must leave the 
present world who would not rather be received into- 
the paradise of God, to dwell with the holy angels, 
than be thrust down into those regions of fire, which 
were prepared for the devil and his angels ? 

But can unconverted men really wish to forsake 
sin, to live holy lives ? We know that Balaam wished 
to die the death of the righteous, but he did not wish 
to live their life. 






m THE CONVERSION OF SfNNERS. 2t? 

Balaam indeed had not any sincere desire to live 
the life of the righteous, for he " loved the wages of 
unrighteousness ;" and yet there were times when he 
expressed strong resolutions to live obediently to the 
will of God. " If Balak should give me his house 
full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the com- 
mandment of the Lord my God, to speak good or evil/ 5 
Numb. xxii. 

Unconverted persons may certainly detest many 
sins. All Israel abhorred the iniquity of the men of 
Gibeah, who abused the Levite's concubine, and of 
their brethren, the tribe of Benjamin, who refused to 
deliver them up to condign punishment. " He that 
withholdeth corn," says Solomon, " the people shall 
curse him ; but blessings shall be upon the head of 
him that selleth it. 55 " He that, in these things," says 
Paul, (in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy 
Ghost), " serveth Christ, is accepted of God ; and ap- 
proved of men." He is not only approved of saints, 
but of men in general. Hazael, before he was king 
of Syria, detested those very crimes which he after- 
wards perpetrated in the fulness of his pride and power. 

Unconverted persons may even wish to be freed 
from the chains of those corrupt lusts, which have long 
held them fast. I have known a drunkard who, for 
months, or perhaps for a whole year, would avoid 
temptations to his favourite sin, and be again entan- 
gled therein, and overcome, when a strong temptation 
presented itself. I believe there are few drunkards, 
or gluttons, that do not frequently wish, and resolve 
to reform. When they feel the bitter effects of their sin> 
in those diseases which a kind Providence has annex- 
ed to it, they will condemn their folly. What have 



293 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

we any more to do with this idol, which has bewitched 
us, impoverished, enfeebled us, and which threatens 
to cut short our days? Yet, when a little time has 
elapsed, their brutish, or worse than brutish appetite 
returns in all its strength. The shame, the pain, are 
forgotten ; reason, religion, present and eternal inter- 
ests, must all give way to the cursed gratification of a 
few moments. Idolatry was the favourite sin of the 
children* of Israel, and yet, when they were sore op- 
pressed by their enemies, they returned, and inquired 
early after their own God, and put away their strange 
gods, till returning prosperity banished the remem- 
brance of their afflictions, and of all the resolutions 
they had formed in the time of distress. 

Persons may wish, in a certain sense, to be deli- 
vered from all sin, because they have often heard 
that it is an essential part of the character of one 
who is born of God, that he doth not commit sin. 
There is a great difference between vague and gene- 
ral views of things, and a particular inspection of 
them. Sin appears to the ordinary hearers of the 
gospel a very bad and dangerous thing, which brings 
death after it; and, as they hate death, they must 
hate sin as the cause of death. But let those things 
that are sinful be particularly considered, and the 
deception will appear. They will not live in the 
practice of what is sinful, and yet they will think 
their own thoughts, and speak their own words on 
the Lord's day. They will roll proud, earthly, vile 
imaginations in their minds, and yet they desire to 
renounce every sin. Thus men deceive themselves 
by unmeaning words no less than their neighbours. 
You will not live in sin, because you wish not to be 



IN THE CONVERSION OP SINNERS. 299 

damned. But what is sia ? Every thing, you will say, 
that is contrary to the law of God. But is there not 
a secret reservation of exceptions ? You will have 
nothing to do, as far as you can help it, with any sin 5 
only there are one, or two, or three secret workings 
of inordinate desire, for which you. must have a li- 
cense to amuse yourselves with them, at some times, 
if you cannot be permitted to indulge them at all 
times. The Lord pardon his servants in these things, 
which are but of little moment. In other things, you 
will endeavour to need as little pardon as possible. 

When sinners are impressed with the conviction, 
that it would be dangerous for them to indulge their 
favourite inclinations, they may entertain temporary 
wishes, and form resolutions, which they hope will 
be permanent, to renounce them. " If Balak should 
give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot 
go beyond the commandment of the Lord my God. 
If my journey displease thee, I will get me back 
again.' 5 So said Balaam. But is this really the 
voice of Balaam, the son of Beor ? Is not this thy 
voice, holy David ? It has indeed a wonderful re- 
semblance to the voice of David. " I will speak 
of thy commandments before kings, and I will not 
be ashamed. I was upright before him, and I kept 
myself from mine iniquity." How then shall we dis- 
tinguish between the voice of Balaam and the voice 
of David ? Balaam told the king that he would not 
depart a single inch from the path of duty. But his 
will to walk in that path was like the wish of a man, 
whose life is endangered by a mortified limb, to have 
it cut off. He is unwilling to lose any member of his 
body, but he is more unwilling to die. Balaam loved 



?00 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

" the wages of unrighteousness," but this love was 
mightily counteracted by his wish to " die the death 
■of the righteous." It was, at certain times, so pow- 
erfully restrained, that it might appear to himself to 
be extinguished. But it soon recovered its vigour, 
and dictated that accursed counsel to Balak, by which 
the children of Israel were ensnared in the matter of 
Baal-Peor. But David's desire to be free from sin, 
was like the desire which every man feels to be freed 
from mortal sickness. He hated sin, and loved ho 
iiness» " I will speak of thy testimonies to kings." 
Why ? Not only because he feared the eternal King 
far above all earthly princes, but because he loved 
God and his law above all things on the earth, PsaL 
exix. 46, — 48. Self-love excites men to avoid every 
thing that they apprehend to be hurtful to themselves^ 
and a prudent s^lf-love will dispose men carefully to 
avoid the most pleasant poisons. Love to God dis- 
poses the saints to hate every thing that is offensive 
to him. Men therefore, without saving grace, may 
hate sin, not as sin, not as a thing hateful and offen- 
sive to God, but as a thing destructive to themselves* 
And they may love the duties of holiness, not from 
any pleasure they take in holiness, for true holiness 
is their aversion, but because they wish to be happy : 
and therefore the necessary means of this happiness 
must be valued by them on acoount of their supposed 
beneficial tendency, though otherwise unpleasant. 

What has been said about religious affections in 
unconverted persons may, perhaps, appear strange 
to some of you, because you have often heard that 
desire of grace is grace* and that genuine religion is 
to be discerned amongst the greatest part of Chris- 



: 



rX THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS* 301 

tians, rather by their desires and endeavours than 
by their attainments. This mark of grace is found- 
ed upon the Scriptureb " Blessed are they that hun- 
ger and thirst after righteousness,'' Matt. v. 6. 
" Have respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and 
of thy servants that desire to fear thy name," Neh. 
i. 11. But we may err by misapplying Scripture, 
as well as by disregarding it. Love to the brethren 
is a distinguishing character of saints, according to 
many passages of the Bible ; and yet formalists may 
deceive themselves^ by thinking that they love the 
brethren, when they either do not love them at all, 
or do not love them with that genuine regard which 
is due to them as the children of God, and partakers 
t)f the divine nature. John, who takes pleasure in 
expatiating on this distinguishing character of true 
religion, thought it necessary to guard us against 
mistakes in applying it, by telling us what is the 
true character of that love which distinguishes the 
saints. " Hereby we know that we love the chil- 
dren of God, if we love God and keep his command- 
ments." That love to the brethren is the only true 
Christian love, which originates in that love to God 
whereby we are disposed to keep his commandments. 
The same thing may be observed of those desires of 
grace which distinguish the true saint from the for- 
malist. Then are our hungerings and thirstings after 
righteousness sincere, when we value righteousness 
above all its attendant felicities. Then are our de- 
sires to fear the name of God genuine, when the de- 
sire of our souls is to God's name, and to the remem- 
brance of him, above every thing on earth or in hea« 
ven. Psal. kxiii. 25, 26. 

B b 



302 On THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

" They delight to know my name," says God of 
a wicked generation of men spoken of by Isaiah, 
chap. Iviii. " they ask of me the ordinances of jus- 
tice, they take delight in approaching to God." 
The original word for delight in this passage, Isa. 
Iviii. 3. is the same that is used Neh* i. 11. concern- 
ing the temper of the genuine servants of God, " Who 
desire to fear thy name." Holy desires are a cer- 
tain evidence of grace, but there may be religious 
desires and delight where sin reigns. The stony- 
ground hearers, Matt. xiii. " heard the word with 
joy," and yet they brought forth no fruit to perfec- 
tion. 

2. Our text speaks not only of willing, but like- 
wise of running, in the ways of religion, without any 
happy effect. 

Although we ought not to expect perfection of ho- 
liness in this life, and may warrantably class our- 
selves in the number of saints w T hilst sin dwells and 
works in us, yet we should carefully guard against 
self-deception in applying to ourselves the character 
of real saints, spoken of in the Bible, without un- 
derstanding what they are. It has been already ob- 
served, that there are desires to be religious, which 
will not prove that we are holy ; and one character 
often given of those desires which may be considered 
as marks of holiness, is, that they are attended with 
suitable effects. But it must be remembered, that 
there may be very considerable effects produced by 
religious affections where there is no true holiness. 
The stony-ground hearers brought forth no fruit to 
perfection, but the seed that was sown sprung up 
pleasantly for a time. It promised abundance of 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 303 

fruit, although it produced nothing that was pleasing 
to God. 

The men of whom we formerly spoke from Isaiah, 
ch. Iviii. not only delighted to know God's ways,* 
but asked of him the ordinances of justice, and ob- 
served fast days. Ezekiel's graceless hearers came 
before him as God's people cometh, and heard him 
with pleasure, though their heart went after their 
covetousness. John's hearers came from great dis- 
tances, not only to hear, but to be baptized, although 
the smaller part of them only was converted. The 
hearers of Christ run after him when he left them, 
and sometimes continued so long to hear his gracious 
words, that they were in danger of fainting through 
weariness and hunger, although few of them were 
converted by his ministry. 

" Ye did run well," says Paul to the Galatians* 
He not only says that they run, but that they run 
well. They heard the apostle's discourses with such 
pleasure, and thought themselves so greatly indebted 
to him for bringing to their ears the glad tidings of 
salvation, that they would have plucked out their 
own eyes and given them to him. Yet he says to 
them, " I stand in doubt of you." All their uncom- 
mon fervour was not sufficient to assure him of their 
happy condition. If he had seen certain evidences 
of their conversion at the time when they were run- 
ning well, he could not have doubted of the reality 
of their conversion, because he knew that he who 
begins the good work will perform it unto the day of 
Christ. 

When Caligula gave orders to set up his own 
image in the temple of Jerusalem, the whole body 



304 ear the sovereignty or orace 

$f the people were inflamed with such extravagant 
zeal, that the emperor, who never hesitated, before 
or after, at the doing of any thing that was frantic 
or wicked, found it necessary to alter his purpose. 
He was sensible that they would ail rather lose their 
lives, and sell them at a dear rate, than permit such 
indignity to be done to the God of their fathers. 
This was zeal for God, and it was zeal in a good 
cause, and yet the men who were so zealous for God 
were the most determined enemies to Christ and his 
gospel in the whole world. 

On the whole, you see what necessity there is for 
a careful search of your hearts and practice, that 
you may not deceive yourselves with empty appear^ 
ances of religion. Examine your desires and your 
performances, whether they are such as characterize 
the true fearers of the name of God. Men may es- 
cape, through the knowledge of our Lord and Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ, the corruptions that are in the 
world through lust, and yd continue dogs and swine* 
2 Pet. ii. 20, 21. What will it avail- us that we de- 
sire to die the death of the righteous, if our latter 
end be with the uncircumcised that go down to the 
pit? To what purpose do we run, if we do not keep 
the path of life ? Why should we suSer many things 
and do many things in vain ? Herod heard John glad- 
ly, and did many things because of him. Could all 
that he had done at the persuasion of John give relief 
to his mind, when it charged him with the guilt of 
shedding the blood of a great prophet ? 

But there is another mistake incident to the hearers 
■of the gospel, which I caution you against. What I 
mean is, the presumptuous supposition, that although 



I>v THE CONVERSION OF SINKERS. 303 

your religious affections and attainments will not prove 
that you are in a state of grace, they may give 
some better title to Lhe grace of God than yon had 
ban other sinners of your race. When 
you are awakened to a sense of your sins, you look 
about on every side to see if there is any hope for 
you. When y«u dare not hope in the mercy of God 
as a sufficient ground of confidence, you will turn to 
yourselves, and fondly grasp at every thing in your 

net and experience which may afford the shadow 

of relief. Your eager desire of comfort, joined to 

that self-esteem which is natural to man, will tempt 

:n that now there is something in you 

b may embolden your hope in God. What is 

but a contrivance of our proud spirit to obtain 
ion from the grace of God. and to be as little 

; deb: as possible ? We find that we cannot live 
wholly by our works, but to beg from God himself 
we are ashamed; or. if we must beg, we will bribe 
or flatter the Almighty, that we may draw forth his 
liber: such good words or such small services 

as we can afford. 

The best things will become snares and traps to 
us. if the Lord himself do not take the direction cf 
our hearts. It is oi God's mercy that we are awa- 

ml to a consideration of our ways, that we are 
convinced of the great evil of our sins, that we are 
. to make use of the means of grace. But 
if we turn the effects of common operations of the 
Spirit into grounds of hope in divine grace, we en- 
deavour, in part, to work cut a justifying righteous- 
ness for ourselves, inst \ our n 
dependence upon that ehich reigns thrc 
B I 



308 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRAC& 

righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ ow 
Lord. 

" By grace are ye saved through faith, and that 
not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God. If it be of 
grace, it is no more of works, 5 * in a lesser or greater 
degree. Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no con- 
fidence in the flesh. God grant that our eyes may 
be opened to a sense of the infinite distance between 
God and us, and of the wretchedness of our condi- 
tion as sinners, that all our hope may be fixed on 
him who came to save sinners, and of sinners the 
chief* 



DISCOURSE IL 



SO then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him 
that runneth, hid of God zvho sheweth mercy. Rom. 
ix. 18. that any of our guilty race are received into 
the number of the children of God, and entitled to 
the blessings of salvation. I have already endeav- 
oured to give you some account of those religious af- 
fections and performances which are consistent with 
a state of irregeneracy. 1 proposed, 

II. To shew you that our utmost endeavours, and 
the most ardent wishes for salvation that are consis- 
tent with an unconverted state, give us no title of any 
kind to a participation of that grace which is necessa* 
ry for our salvation. 

I formerly discoursed on another doctrine from this 
text, That the almighty grace of God is absolutely ne- 
cessary for our conversion, which cannot be effectua- 
ted by the utmost exertion of our own natural power** 



IK THE^ CONVERSION OF SINNERS* 307 

This doctrine I endeavoured to prove from the consi- 
deration of plain passages of Scripture which assert 
this truth, from the account which Scripture gives us 
of the natural state of many from the very strong ex- 
pressions used in Scripture to denote the mode of di- 
vine operation in the conversion of men, from the pro- 
mises of conversion found in the Bible, from the ac- 
count given us in scripture of the power by which ma- 
ny were converted, under the ministry of Christ and 
his apostles, from the models of prayer and thanks- 
giving for conversion which we find in Scripture* 
Many other arguments of unconquerable force might 
be produced to prove this point, from the plainest de- 
clarations of Scripture, and from the other capital 
doctrines which are every where taught in it. 

Perhaps it may be alleged that, when this point is 
proved, nothing farther remains to be said on the sub- 
ject. The doctrine, that men cannot believe in Christ, 
or turn to God, without the effectual working of the 
mighty power of God, is the same, in effect, with the 
doctrine of which we now propose to speak. If it be 
true that we cannot repent or believe unto salvation 
without the effectual working of divine grace, it must 
of course be true that none of our attainments, in a 
natural state, can give us any shadow of title to the 
grace of God, because no-man in his senses can sup- 
pose any obligation lying upon the Most High to be- 
stow the best of his blessings upon men for works that 
have no real goodness in them. 

I allow that the two doctrines are, in effect, the 
s^me, or so nearly related that they must stand or fall 
together. It is the height of absurdity to suppose that 
God can be brought under any obligations to bestow 



308 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

upon us a gift as valuable as the heavenly felicity, in 
consideration of works that are purely the effects of 
self-love, of works done by a man in whom there 
dwelleth no good thing, and who is in such a wretch- 
ed condition that, till he is saved by a miracle of grace, 
he will still add sin to sin, to augment the fierce anger 
of the Lord. Yet it is far from being needless to 
combat a prevailing practical error, because to seri- 
ous consideration it appears a gross absurdity. The 
arguments to be used for shewing its unreasonableness 
will be, in a great measure, the same by which we 
have proved the necessity of effectual grace ; but it 
will be proper to shew how they bear upon the sub- 
ject under our present consideration. May God make 
what is to be said effectual to cast down the high im- 
aginations of men, that they may bow before the foot- 
stool of his throne of grace, and may learn to look 
for every good thing from his rich and free grace,, 
without pretending to claim as a debt, what must be 
received as a free gift. 

I. Express passages of Scripture shew that God 
not only performs the work of converting men by his 
divine power, but that he does it according to his own 
pleasure. We need not go any farther than our text 
for a proof. He saith to Moses, " I will have mercy 
on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compas- 
sion on whom I will have compassion.' 5 The same 
truth is asserted no less plainly in the eighteenth 
verse, " Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will 
have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth,'" The 
obvious sense of these places of Scripture is, that our 
holiness and salvation depend, not on the will of man, 
but on the will of God, who doubtless has his reasons 



18 THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 309 

for what he does, but finds them in himself, and not 
in us. 

Strong objections start up in the minds of men to 
this doctrine, and therefore they will endeavour to 
find some other sense for the apostle's words than we 
have given them. But let it be observed, that Paul 
himself knew that an objection would be started to it, 
precisely such as may be expected according to our 
interpretation of them, and, in his answer, he is so far 
from giving a different turn to his meaning, that he 
plainly takes it for granted to be the true one. " Thou 
wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault, for 
who hath resisted his will ? Nay, but, O man, who art 
thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing for- 
med say unto him that formed it, Why hast thou made 
me thus ? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of 
the same lump, to make one vessel to honour and an- 
other to dishonour ?" The Lord is the potter, we are 
the clay. Some of us are made vessels to honour, 
others to dishonour. The reason of the difference 
did not lie in the clay, but in the potter. He makes 
the different vessels according to his own pleasure. 

The same truth is evidently taught, Phil. ii. 13. 
il God worketh in you both to will and to do." Eve- 
ry good principle, every good action is here plainly 
attributed to the power of God. But how is his pow- 
er regulated ? By his own good pleasure, and not by 
qualities found in those in whom he works. The 
words of John, ch. i. 13. are strongly expressive of 
this truth. M We are born again, not of blood, nor 
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but 
of God." 

2* When we consider the natural sinfulness and 



310 OK THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

misery of man, as it is described from the Scripture 
in our Shorter Catechism, it is apparent that we must 
be converted, if we are at all converted, by the 
sovereign grace of God. 

Such is the power of sin, that nothing can deliver 
us from this accursed tyrant but the power of God, 
Matt. xii. 29. and the divine power is never exert- 
ed for this end till the day of effectual calling. God 
may do much for men before the day of his power. 
The Holy Spirit awakens and convinces them that 
are to be saved ; but his awakening and converting 
influence is not confined to the elect, nor do those in- 
fluences upon the elect that precede their conversioa 
change their state. Sin may be powerfully checked^, 
but it is still deeply rooted in the heart, where there 
is no principle of holiness to oppose it. " Either 
make the tree good and his fruit good, or else the tree 
corrupt and his fruit corrupt ; for the tree is known 
by his fruits. O generation of vipers, how can y€ y 
being evil, speak good things ?" These words may 
appear strange to some of you. Cannot an evil man 
speak good things ? Do we not read of some whose 
words were smoother than oil, although war was in 
their hearts ? Have we not heard men speak good 
things, of whom we had reason to entertain a very 
unfavourable opinion ? Who could speak better things 
than Balaam, the son of Beor ? And yet our Lord 
says, that those who are evil cannot speak good things* 
But it is to be remarked that good things are evil 
things in evil men. Their corruption of heart poi- 
sons their best words and actions, for to the defiled 
and unbelieving there is nothing pure. Thus said the 
Lord of hosts to Haggai, his messenger, " Ask now 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 312 

the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear 
holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his 
skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or 
any meat, shall it be holy ? And the priests answered 
and said. No. Then said Haggai, If one that is un- 
clean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be 
unclean '? And the priests answered and said, It shall 
be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So 
is this people, and so is this nation before me saith 
the Lord, and so is every work of their hands, and 
that which they offer there is unclean," Hag. ii. 11, — 
14. 

Not only their openly sinful works, but all their 
works were unclean. Their sacrifices presented on 
the altar of the Lord were unclean, because their 
persons were unclean. Although they did not bring 
blind and lame beasts, like the people in MalachPs 
time, although they did not offer them, like Nadab 
and Abihu, with strange fire, but observed every rite 
prescribed by the law, their sacrifices could not be 
accepted till they put away the evil of their doings 
from before God's eyes. 

Are you in a state of sin ? Whatever desires you 
feel of deliverance from it, whatever efforts you use 
for the accomplishment of these desires, whilst you 
continue at a distance from Christ, you must be vile 
in the eyes of the all-seeing God. How then can 
your desires or performances be pure ? If you should 
justify yourselves, and allege that you have done all 
that you can to make yourselves pure, your mouths 
would prove you perverse. The love of sin reigns 
unsubdued in your hearts. Should a man come with 
a petition for his life into the presence of his prince, 



31 2 Oft *THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

and appear before the arbiter of his life, with hi£ 
face, his hands, his clothes, all covered over with 
mire and dirt would the prince think himself honour- 
ed ? Would he not command the presence-chamber 
lo be instantly cleared of a man who treated majesty 
with such contempt ? No pollutions are more abomi- 
nable to us than sin to God ; and every sinner before 
him, whatever his attainments are, is as an unclean 
thing, and all his righteousnesses are as filthy rags. 

The consideration of our sins might well cure us 
of those proud conceits by which we are prevented 
from humbling ourselves to the dust before divine 
majesty* You know that you are chargeable with 
innumerable sins. But you are sorry that ever you 
behaved so foolishly. Now you have attained more 
wisdom, and will never return to your former follies. 
On the contrary, you resolve to cry mightily to God 
for the pardon of what you have done, and resolve 
that, if you have done iniquily, you will do no more. 
What then ? Is God under any obligation to comply 
with your wishes ? This you will not venture to say. 
Yet you would think yourself hardly dealt with, if, 
when you are as penitent as you can be without a new 
heart and a new spirit, you should be rejected. But 
why do you think it would be a hard thing ? The 
damned in hell are a thousand times more penitent, 
with this kind of penitence, than you are. Is God a 
tyrant, because he does not pluck them as brands out 
of the burning ? A great part of mankind, upon their 
death-beds, mourn sore for the sins of their past lives, 
and would give worlds that what has been done could 
be undone. Is God therefore under a necessity, either 
from his justice, or from his goodness, to give them 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 31$ 

repentance unto life? Then few gospel-hearers would 
die in their sins, except those who die insane, or who 
are cut off so suddenly that they have not time to 
repent. 

These you will say, have no title no mercy, be- 
cause their vehement desires of favour from God are 
the mere effects of terror and of self-love. What 
obligation can lie upon the Almighty to shew mercy 
to men whose cries for help are extorted by necessi- 
ty, and who, if they were permitted to return to life, 
would probably return to their former impiety ? This 
is true, But what if it is as true of yourselves, as of 
those that are in the agonies of death? Your cries for 
mercy are the expressions of your fear and grief for 
yourselves. The power of sin is so far from being 
destroyed, that, if your fears were removed, it would 
operate as powerfully as ever ; or rather, it has not 
ceased to operate, though in a different manner. It 
takes occasion, by the commandment coming into 
your souls, to work all manner of concupiscence. 
You are not yet reconciled to the law of God. Your 
enmity against the purity and strictness of the law, 
apparent in your own enlightened consciences, though 
not to the world, is a strong indication of the mighty 
power of sin. Sin, by the commandment, becomes 
exceeding sinful, when it excites reflections against 
that justice which denounces wrath against every 
soul of man that doth evil. 

You are better, you say, than you once were, al- 
though you cannot deny that you are still too bad. 
But what reason have you to say that you are bet- 
ter? Do you take every thing into the account that 
ought to be coasidered ? If you are better in your 



314 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

outward conduct, are you not worse in the secret 
workings of enmity against the law, which is the 
same thing with enmity against God himself? Is your 
saying that you are better, any sign that you are dis- 
posed to receive salvation as the gift of free and sove- 
reign grace? You have, it seems, somewhat less 
need of the Physician than you had formerly. But 
those who need the Physician are the sick, and those 
who are most sensible of their sickness are the per- 
sons to whom the Physician is most welcome. 

You ought rather to think yourselves worse than 
better ; and just convictions of sin will dispose you 
to account yourselves worse than ever formerly you 
thought yourselves. You have yet all the sins of 
your former lives upon your heads, and new sins 
every day and every hour added to them. A man 
was never in a worse state than he is at present, if 
he is not a believer in Christ, because he never had 
a greater load of transgressions upon his head. Ev- 
ery new sin adds to the causes of God's w r rath, and 
none of the exercises or attainments of unconverted 
persons can free them, in the least degree, from the 
guilt of any of their former sins, or compensate for 
the new provocations by which they daily offend the 
Most High. 

Consider your behaviour since you were awakened 
to a concern for your salvation. Have you ever 
gratified any of your corrupt inclinations since the 
time that God began to remonstrate against them by 
the loud voice of your own consciences ? Are you 
sure that you have not resisted the Holy Ghost, by 
complying with your own lusts ; and with the devil, in 
opposition to his remonstrances ? If you have done 



TN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 315 

50, how can you imagine that your prayers and tears 
have given you any title to the favour of God ? Do 
you not rather merit worse damnation than ever, by 
wilfully taking part against the Most High with his 
irreconcileable enemy ? 

Has fear or shame withheld you from fulfilling your 
former lusts ? Consider what the services are by which 
you think you have merited some favour from God. 
Have you not offended God by many w r andering ima- 
ginations in your devotions ? When you were singing 
God's praises, were your hearts always fixed, and 
was your devotion always fervent? When you read 
or heard his word, were your hearts always penetra- 
ted with that reverence which is due to the Author of 
it ? And did you attend to it with that earnestness 
which might be expected from the interesting nature 
of the subjects about which God deals with us in his 
word ? When you duly consider how you have per* 
formed these services by which you hope to deserve 
some favour, you w 7 ill see that you ought rather to 
seek pardon for your duties as well as for your sins. 
Your righteousnesses are as filthy rags. If you pre- 
tend to require a compensation for them from God 3 
they must be rejected with abhorrence. 

Presume not to think that you can make God a 
debtor to such vile dust and ashes as you must ac- 
knowledge yourselves to be, but lie down in your 
shame, and let your confusion cover you, for you 
have transgressed against the Lord, and your trans- 
gressions will remain marked against you, till they 
are purged away by the blood of Christ. 

3. That we cannot procure for ourselves any sha- 
dow of title to the grace of God, is evident from the 



316 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF «RA«B 

account which the Scripture gives us of that grate 
by which sinners are saved. 

If Adam had persisted in his state of innocence, 
the rew r ard bestowed upon him might have been at- 
tributed to the grace of God, in a sense in which the 
word grace might, without impropriety, be understood. 
He could not have merited by his works the glorioips 
reward promised to him by the covenant of works ; 
and yet he would have been justly entitled to it, if 
he had persevered in uprightness. 

But that grace, which is the spring of our salvation, 
excludes all works. " By grace are ye saved, not of 
works, lest any man should boast/ 5 Men would havir 
ground to boast, if they could by their works procure 
that grace which must save them; or rather, that 
grace would be no grace, " for if it be of grace, it is 
no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. 55 

Grace is the spring of our salvation. God's 
thoughts to us from eternity were thoughts of peace. 
Why ? Because he foresaw some good dispositions m 
us ? By no means. All the good dispositions that 
were ever to be found in us, are the fruits of God's 
electing love. " He chose us that we should be holy,' 1 
not because he foresaw that we would be holy. " Be- 
fore the children were born, or had done good or 
evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, 
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, 
it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the youn- 
ger. 55 Eph. i. 4. Rom. ix. 12, 13. 

The glory of divine grace is the end of our salva- 
tion. He raises us to spiritual life, " that, in the 
ages to come, he may shew the exceeding riches of 
his grace, in his kindness towards us through Christ 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SIXXESS. 31 i 

Jesus.*' How does God glorify the riches, the ex- 
ceeding riches of his grace I Bv bestowing salvation 
upon sinful men. without respect to any worth in 
themselves, but according to the good pleasure of his 
goodness. Our Lord teaches us what kind of 
glory is to be ascribed to divine grace, in that thanks- 
giving to the Father. a I thank thee. Father. Lord 
of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these 
js from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed 
• hem unto babes. Even so, Father, for so ii seemed 
i in thy smm." Eph, ii. 7. Matt. xi. 25, 26. 
s the glory of the i^raee of God to be free and 
... to dispense its favours to those who can 
no reason, or shadow of reason, to ascribe them 
T * other source. For this reason, God has often 
jsen those who seemed o: all ; .hers least likely 
to be chosen. " that no Sesh should glory in his pre- 
sence, bv: that, as it is written. He that glorieth. let 
Ljrd." I Cor. i. 26, — 31. 
Whilst ordinary sinners have been rejected, great 
oders have been mad: partakers oi the rich bles- 
sings cf divine mercy. " W here the offence at : 
ded. grace hath much mere abounded, that, as sin 
hath reigned fantc i, even so grace might reign 

igh righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus 
istour Lord." Rom. v. 20, 21, 
4. The doctrine cf our redemption by Christ Jesus 
preclude- ail ideas oi entitling ourselves to the bles- 
sings of divine rrrace. bv any of our own attainments, 
or by any exertions of our own powers. 

Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal 
- !He, not by ourselves, but by Jesus Christ our Lord ; 
hath expiated on! ii: . pre- 

C : 



318 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

cured for us our deliverance from the power of the 
old man, and all the blessings of salvation. To join 
any works done by us with the righteousness of 
Christ, is, in so far, to place confidence in the flesh. 
But in Christ is all our salvation. He alone is our 
hope. Through his blood alone we are justified, and 
sanctified, and admitted to the possession of all the 
felicities and glories of the heavenly state. 

If you think that you are qualified to partake of 
divine grace, because you have done all that a man 
in your circumstances can do, you put your own works 
in the place of the finished work of Christ your Sav- 
iour. Do you think that there is merit enough in all 
your attainments and performances, to obtain for you 
the favour of God, notwithstanding of all that you 
have done to provoke his wrath ? Then you hope that 
some of your sins will be overlooked, and that your 
remission is in part, if not completely, procured by 
your own works. The blood of Jesus Christ does 
Dot cleanse you completely from all your sins. Some 
of them are cleansed away, or some part of the guilt 
of them is removed by the nitre and soap of your own 
endeavours. For how can you have any shadow of 
title to the favour of God without the removal of that 
guilt by which you have provoked him ? 

We are " justified freely by the grace of God, 
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Have 
you considered the large import of these words ? To 
be justified freely, is to be justified without any cause 
in ourselves. It is to be justified purely through the 
redemption that is in Christ, according to the riches 
of the grace of God, whilst we have not a word to say 
in justification of ourselves. This is plain from the 



IN THE CONVERSION OP SINNERS, 319 

train of the apostle's reasoning in the passage where 
these words are found, Rom. iii. 9, What is the 
reason that, if we are justified at all, we are justified 
freely by the grace of God, through the redemption 
that is in Christ Jesus ? Because men are such sinful 
and miserable creatures, that every mouth must be 
stopped, and the world is become guilty before God, 
Rom. iii. 19, 23, 24. If our mouths are stopped 
by the law r , the gospel only can open them. We 
have nothing to plead but that righteousness which is 
the gift of God, to the unworthy and the vile. 

Through that death of Christ w r hich has obtained 
our pardon, we are delivered from the dominion of 
sin ; and, till we partake of its virtue, sin reigns in 
us. That sentence by which our persons are justi- 
fied, condemns our old man to destruction. " He 
that is dead is justified from sin," Rom. vi. 7. u e. 
He who is dead with Christ by his justification, is de- 
livered from sin. And if we are not delivered from 
sin till w T e have fellowship with Christ in his death, 
what can we claim from any of those works which we 
can do, before we are spiritually baptised into Christ, 
and into his death ? Can they in any manner recom- 
mend us to God ? Then our salvation from sin is ef- 
fected by ourselves in part, and effected whilst sin 
still reigns within us. 

Believers in Christ perform works that are accep- 
ted, and graciously rewarded by God. But unbelie- 
vers, whatever their attainments are, have no part in 
Christ, and therefore, if they are accepted, it must be 
without the interposition of a mediator, or through 
gome other mediator than the man Christ Jesus. If 
there be another Jesus besides him whom Paul prea- 



320 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

ched, through whom your services can come before 
God with acceptance, you may hope to procure some 
title to the grace of God by your exertions under the 
influence of conscience, without faith in Christ. If 
there is no advocate with the Father but Jesus Christ 
the righteous, expect not the acceptance of your per- 
sons and services, but through the faith of him. 

5. The nature of that faith by which we receive 
salvation, is a plain evidence that we cannot claim the 
favour of God on account of any of our attainments^ 
before we believe. 

Whatever disputes and janglings may be found 
amongst Christians about the nature of faith in Christ, 
one thing is abundantly evident from the place assign- 
ed to it in our salvation, that it receives the blessings 
of Christ as a free gift conferred upon us by divine 
mercy, without any claim upon God on account of any 
thing in ourselves. Call to your remembrance an im- 
portant text, quoted a little ago, " Every mouth is 
stopped by the law, and the whole world guilty before 
God ; therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall 
no flesh be justified in his sight." How then can any 
man be justified before God ? " Freely by the grace 
of God, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 
whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through 
faith in his blood." Faith in the blood of Christ must 
then include a renunciation of all works in the belie- 
ver, as the cause of his justification. It is the act of a 
sinner, who has nothing of his own to plead why he 
should not undergo the awful sentence of the law 
which denounces the curse of God against him. The 
law of faith is contrasted by the apostle with the law 
of works. The one, he says, allows, and the other 



IK THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 321 

txcludes boasting. The one teaches men to look for 
the reward as a debt, and not as a gift of grace ; the 
other teaches them to believe on him that justifies the 
ungodly by a righteousness without works. Rom. iii. 
19, 23, 24, 27. iv. 5. 

What is the ground of your faith in Christ ? Is it 
any thing in yourselves ? Is it not the w r ord of grace, 
in which salvation is exhibited, brought near, and of- 
fered to the ungodly? If your faith is founded upon 
something in yourselves, do you not trust in the flesh ? 
" But we are the circumcision which worship God in 
the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no 
confidence in the flesh." Abraham himself, the great 
pattern of our faith, found nothing in himself of which 
he might glory before God. His seed must walk in 
the steps of his faith. This faith must claim nothing 
for them as a debt due to themselves. " It is of faith 
that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise- 
might be sure to all the seed." 

When the Galatian churches were perverted by 
false teachers, they were far from wishing to have 
nothing more to do with Jesus Christ the Saviour, or 
with the grace that came to men by the revelation of 
Jesus Christ. But they were made to believe that they 
could not be justified by Christ, unless they perform- 
ed certain works prescribed by the law, w r hich, in 
conjunction with the righteousness of Christ, w r ould 
ensure their salvation. But what says the apostle ? 
" Who hath bewitched you, O foolish Galatians, diat 
ye should not obey the truth ? Are ye so foolish ! ha- 
ving begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect in 
the flesh ?*' 

True faith cleaves to Christ alone. It trusts not is 



SS2 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACS 

itself, nor in any works that go before, or follow it, but 
in the work finished by Christ. It buys his gold and 
fine raiment, his milk and his honey, without money 
and without price. It brings nothing to him, but re- 
ceives every thing from him, that all the glory of our 
salvation may be attributed to him alone. It heartily 
assents to the declaration of a promising God. " Not 
for your sakes do I this. Be ashamed and confoun- 
ded for your own ways, O house of Israel." 

6. It is evident, from experience, that many fall 
not to rise again, who once discovered great concern 
about their salvation. Balaam, at one time, would not 
go beyond the commandment of the Lord to speak a 
single word ; and yet, at another time, he gave coun- 
sel to Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the chil- 
dren of Israel to commit fornication, and to eat things 
sacrificed to idols. Many, at the last day, will have 
much to say of their attainments, who are found to 
have been workers of iniquity, Matt. vii. 21, 22. We 
cannot have forgotten what is said in the parable of 
the sower concerning the stony ground and the thor- 
ny-ground hearers, Matt. xiii. or what Peter says con- 
cerning men who have escaped the corruption that is 
in the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, and yet are again entangled and 
overcome. 2 Peter ii. 20. 

Will then some of the ungodly have reason to com- 
plain at the last day, that they had done every thing 
possible to be done in their circumstances, and yet 
come short of heaven ? It is sufficient to say, in an- 
swer to this question, that the day of judgment is the 
day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. 
It will then be found that men's destruction was of 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 323 

themselves, and that the reason why the hearers of the 
gospel who continued in unbelief were not saved, was 
that which Christ himself assigns, " Ye would not 
come unto me, that ye might have life," They could 
not repent, because they would not. Whatever im- 
pression the truth made upon their consciences, they 
did not receive the love of the truth that they might be 
saved. If they had truly hungered and thirsted after 
righteousness, they would have received the blessing 
from the Lord. 

Who w T ill be able to say at that day, that he did 
what he could to obtain salvation, and was disappoint- 
ed ? Where is the man to be found, of whom it can be 
said that he does every thing that man can do to 
please God, in a suitableness to his condition, wheth- 
er he is regenerate or unregenerate ? 

It may perhaps be said of some, even of the un- 
regenerate, that they make every religious exertion 
which can be reasonably hoped for from men in their 
condition. What we have said of such persons is, 
that they cannot procure for themselves, by their ex- 
ertions, a title to divine mercy. We have not said 
that God will never have mercy upon them, for all the 
objects of divine mercy are persons that have no claim 
upon it. Those who seek to enter in and are not 
able, meet with no injustice. They seek not as they 
ought to seek. God fulfils every promise of his w r ord. 
He rewards every good work. He shews mercy to 
thousands that never could deserve it. He does in- 
justice to none. 

But are there no promises in the word of God, that, 
if men do what they can, God will do for them what 
they cannot ? Where are such promises to be found ? 



324 6N THE SOVEREIGNTY OF ©RACK 

u Your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to 
them that ask him/' This, some will say, is a prom- 
ise of the Holy Spirit to them that ask him the best 
way they can, before they partake of his grace ; for 
if they had already received the grace of the Spirit, 
why should they ask him ? But is it not said, " Let 
him ask ia faith, nothing wavering, for he that waver- 
eth is like a wave of the sea driven of the wind and 
tossed^ for let not that man think that he shall re- 
ceive any thing of the Lord ?" 

The Lord may hear prayers that are not presented 
to him in faith, for his mercy is dispensed by him ac- 
cording to his own will. He heard the prayer of Je» 
hoahaz, for relief to Israel, although Jehoahaz never 
was a sound believer, for he departed not all his days 
from the sins of Jeroboam. But he was not under any 
obligations to hear his prayers, nor had he any rea- 
son, from any promises in the Bible, to hope that he 
would be heard* As God does for his people ex- 
ceeding abundantly above what they ask or think, so 
he often does for sinners what they had no reason to 
expect 5 for he is abundant in goodness and truth, — 
He often gives what he has not promised. He never 
gives less. He is not bound to accomplish the prom- 
ises that we make to ourselves by our vain comments 
upon his words ; but not aught shall fail of any good 
thing that he has given us reason from his word to ex» 
pect. 

He will " give the Holy Spirit to them that ask 
him." This is a powerful encouragement to seek the 
Spirit in his blessed influences, although we do not 
feel his influence. We may say still more. It is an 
encouragement to those who are entirely destitute of 



EST THE CONtERSIOS 0? SINNERS. 325 

tie sanctifying influence of the Spirit, to ask him.—- 
But how ? To ask him in faith. We have certainly no 
encouragement in the Bible to ask or to expect any 
thing without faith. Unbelievers cannot pray in faith, 
tili the Spirit is given them to work faith in their 
hearts. But he giveth more grace to them to whom 
he hath already given grace, for " to him that hath 
shall be given." And those who have no grace are 
invited to ask what they want. God may be pleased 
to give that grace which they seek, when, in obedience 
to his word., they endeavour to seek it. If grace 
were bestowed upon none but those who have some 
claim to it, it would be bestowed upon none, cr rath- 
er, it w T ould not be grace. 

We are not to infer from any thing which h&s been 
said, that it is absolutely in vain for persons in a na- 
tural state to attempt any act of religion, and that it is 
no worse for them to live according to the bent of 
their corrupt affections without controul, than to live 
soberly ; or, that they may as well resign themselves 
to utter inactivity in every thing that belongs to reli- 
gion, as strive to enter in at the strait gate, since so 
many strive to enter in and are not able. The fol- 
lowing observations may convince us that the devil is 
the prompter of such pernicious counsels. 

1. Such a conclusion is directly contrary to the ad- 
vice of our Lord Jesus Christ. " Strive to enter in at 
the strait gate, for many, I say unto you, shall seek to 
enter in, and shall not be able. 55 The reason why our 
corrupt minds tell us it is useless to strive, is the rea- 
son why we should strive to enter in. Will you com- 
ply with the advice of your great enemy, or your best 
friend ? You cannot have a better friend than Christ, 

d a 



326 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

You cannot have a worse enemy than him who per« 
■suades you to reject the counsel of Christ. 

2. Although duties performed with moral serious- 
ness by unregenerate persons are not acceptable to 
God, yet they are not so bad as the omission of them. 
If our very prayers, say some, are sinful, it is better 
not to pray. It is indeed better not to pray, than to 
pray like the ancient Pharisees, merely to be seen of 
men, and to obtain a false reputation for piety, to be 
used for malignant purposes. But when motives of 
conscience, and a sense of our dependence upon God, 
induce us to pray, although we cannot pray in faith, 
we are not behaving in such a sinful manner as those 
who utterly neglect prayer. There is, in some re- 
spects, a like difference between morally serious per- 
sons and profane persons, as between Judas and Pe- 
ter, when the one denied his Lord through w r eakness ? 
and the other betrayed him through wilful wickedness* 
Sins differ greatly from one another in their nature 
and aggravations ; and, if you say that it is as good 
for a man to do nothing at all in religion, as to do 
nothing in an acceptable manner, you err as widely as 
the ancient Stoics, who alleged that all sins were 
equal. 

You have read the history of Amaziah, king of Ju- 
dah, who did that which was right in the sight of the 
Lord, " but not like David his father,'' as one of the 
inspired writers says 5 or, " not with a perfect heart," 
as another of them expresses it. He was blessed 
with prosperity by God, whilst he practised the duties 
of religion, though not with a perfect heart. He was 
severely reproved, threatened and punished by God, 
when he cast off the profession of the true religion* 



IX THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS* 32? 

Why so? He was no worse than before, if profligates 
are not worse than formalists. The sin of the former 
consists in utter contempt of God : the latter entertain 
some reverence for him, though they are destitute of that 
hoiy fear which is tempered and sweetened with love. 
The former regard God so little, that they will not so 
much as pay an external obedience to his commands ; 
the latter durst not for their lives and souk treat God's 
commandments with such profane neglect, although 
they cannot serve him with that confidence and love 
which he requires. The Tiliul yrickedness of the one 
is certainly more criminal than the weakness of the 
other* 

3. Diligent use of the means of grace usually pro- 
duces good effects, even when they are not attended 
with saving grace. There are common as well as sa- 
ving influences of the Spirit. The former, though they 
do not necessarily accompany salvation, are of great 
antage to the world and to the church. 

When persons are accustomed to the reading and 
hearing of God's word, although they are not sancti- 
fied, they are preserved from many evils into which 
others fall. They escape, as the apostle Peter says, 
the corruption that is in the world through lust. If 
they fall away, their last state is indeed worse than 
their first. But they do not always fall away : and 
tiH they do, they are preserved from many evils into 
which they might have fallen, evils hurtful to the body, 
to the soul, to the estate. And they are induced by 
powerful motives to do many things beneficial to soci- 
ety and to the church, and to do things also which 
may prove eventually beneficial to their own souls as 
well as to the souls of other men. " Wisdom excel- 



323 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

leth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness," This 
is true of scientific and of moral wisdom, though in a 
far higher sense of spiritual wisdom. It is a question 
which perhaps we cannot answer 5 whether Cyrus of 
Persia ever knew the grace of God in truth. But 
allowing him to have never attained any higher wis- 
dom than that for which he is celebrated by air the 
world, who does not see that his character was incom- 
parably superior to that of his son, Cambyses. The 
former was a blessing, the latter a cmrse, to their nia- 
By millions of subjects. Thus, in private life, profane 
persons are the bane of society, whilst men of sober 
and decent conduct are useful to all with whom they 
are connected. It must indeed be confessed that their 
sobriety, and their virtuous conduct, are a snare to 
themselves if they trust to them, and may become a 
snare to their thoughtless neighbours, if their accom- 
plishments are supposed to procure that respect from 
God to which they are entitled from men. But there 
is nothing so good in this world, as to be incapable of 
being abused to bad purposes. Real piety may be 
perverted to bad purposes. Paul needed a thorn in 
his flesh to preserve him from being lifted up above 
measure by the abundance of the revelations that 
were made to him. 

When Rehoboam and the princes of Judah hum' 
bled themselves, and returned to the observance of 
the law, it is said that in Judah things went well, and 
yet it is said that he did evil, because he prepared not 
his heart to seek the Lord, -2 Chron. xii. 15. 

4. Those who diligently use the means of grace are 
much more likely than those who despise them, to 
partake of the grace of the Spirit. 



THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 329 

Although a natural man cannot perform any duty 
in a maimer acceptable to God, yet, in the practice 
of it, he uses those means by which God uses to com- 
municate his grace to them-who shall be the heirs of 
salvation. When we hear or read the word of God, 
we approach the tabernacles of God, if we do not 
come to God himself. He is present in his own insti- 
tutions, to command the blessing, even life for ever- 
more. Nor does he confine his blessings to his sin- 
cere worshippers. Often has he been found in his 
house by them that asked not for him, or that never 
sought him after the due order* How is it that so 
many millions have been truly converted ? By the 
gospel of his grace. It is the power of God to the 
salvation of the lost. •* The entrance of his word 
givethJight, it giveth understanding unto the simple.' ? 
" The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." 
sod Of the sinner certainly ; for Christ in his 
calls not the righteous, but sinners to repen- 
:-. The word is ineffectual without the Spirit; 
it would be presumptuous in sinners to imagine 
we can procure for ourselves the gift of the Spir- 
But it is not presumptuous to believe that^ wher- 
ever God records his name, he will come to his people 
s them* " There shall be showers of bles- 
sings, and God will make all the places about his hill 
a blessing :-' and may not sinners when they go up 
to the hill of the Lord, indulge the humble hope that 
God, for his own sake and not theirs, may make them 
bfs of his liberality I 
We cannot pray as we ought, but we should endea- 
: to pray, and to pray in faith ; and who knows 
but God. who has commanded even unbelievers te 
Dd2 



330 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

believe and to pray, may give them that grace by 
which they will be enabled to perform acceptable de- 
votion ? It is the duty of all, believers and unbelievers, 
to do what he requires, and when they are sensible- 
they cannot do it, to endeavour, in a dependence on 
his own grace, to do it. When Jesus said to Peter, 
" Let down thy net into the sea," Peter said, " Lord, 
I have toiled all night, and have caught nothing, yet at 
thy word I will let down the net into the sea." Peter 
could easily let down his net into the sea ; but what 
did that signify ? He could not force the fishes to come 
into it. He had toiled in vain all the night, and it 
was not likely that the poor animals which had avoi- 
ded his nets in the night, would be caught in the day £ 
but Jesus had commanded him to let down his net into 
the deep. The word of Jesus was sufficient* He lets 
down his net, and the divine power brings more fisheg 
than the net could bear. 

You cannot meditate with delight on the truths of 
God, but you can recal them to your minds, you can 
revolve them in your thoughts. What you cannot do 
God can do. He can command light to shine into 
your souls, by means of that word which he hath 
given to be a lamp to your feet, and a. light to your 
paths. 

Some will allege, that the doctrine on which we 
have been discoursing so long is very unpleasant* 
4J This is a hard saying, who can hear it?" said some 
of the hearers of Jesus. But we must not confine 
our attention to pleasant subjects. It is much more 
pleasant to think of some of those glorious victories 
which our soldiers and seamen have gained in former 
"wars, than to think of the dangers that threaten us at 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 331 

present from France. Evils must be thought of when 
they are present, or when they are approaching, that 
they may be removed or kept at a distance. It is un- 
pleasant to hear of our extreme depravity, and our 
utter inability to do any thing for our own relief, or 
to procure relief from him who is able to give it. But 
it is not only useful, it is necessary for us to know our 
condition, that we may not deceive ourselves with 
false hopes. Self-confidence is natural to us. It 
shifts its forms, and assumes so many different shapes, 
that, like Satan transforming himself into an angel 
of light, it will deceive us to our ruin, if we are not 
on our guard. Even we, who have often read the 
Bible, and have often heard of the danger of trusting 
to our own righteousness, ought not to think that we 
are in no danger of being entangled in that snare of 
the devil, which has proved fatal to so many of our 
race. It is necessary for us often to call to mind how 
little we can do for ourselves, or rather, that without 
Christ we can do nothing. Our corrupt nature, in 
which there dwelleth no good thing, will often tell 
us that we can at least do something that should pro- 
cure divine favour, and its proud dictates must be 
counteracted by the faithful representations which 
the word of God makes of our condition. We great- 
ly need the grace of God ; but the great loss is, that 
we are little sensible of our need. We are disposed 
to think that we are rich, or that, if we are poor, we 
have it in our power to procure, one way or other, 
what we need. 

If it be true, that nothing is more dangerous than 
pride, nothing more necessary than humility, those 
doctrines must be necessary, whose tendency it is to 



332 @N THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

humble the haughty heart of man, that, renouncing 
all thoughts of merit in any form, we may submit to 
the righteousness of faith, and view it as the gift of 
grace. 

" God, I thank thee that I am not as other men/'* 
This was the language of the proud Pharisee, " God 
"be merciful to me a sinner.* 5 This language of the 
publican is fitted to the mouth of fallen creatures. 
That we may speak this language in sincerity, it is 
necessary to know how worthless and how weak we 
are. 

Some will make a very bad improvement of the 
most humbling and salutary truths. If we are so un- 
able, they will say, to do any thing, truly good, or 
any thing that may entitle us to expect what is good 
from God, we cannot be greatly blamed for not do- 
ing what we cannot do. Who would blame a man 
because he cannot fly like birds, when nature has 
refused him wings ? And who will blame men for 
their inability to do any thing that can please God, 
when he does not think fit to give us strength in our 
natural constitution, or to give us grace by his Spi- 
rit, to do what is pleasing in his sight ? 

The answer to this question is too easy. God h 
certainly not an hard master, reaping where he has 
not sown, or gathering where he has not strewed ; 
but we are wasteful and wicked servants, who have, 
by our apostasy from God, disabled and indisposed 
ourselves for his service. God is so far from being 
obliged to accommodate his laws to the powers left 
us in our fallen state, that he is obliged, if we may 
speak so, to the very reverse. He is holy by a ne- 
cessity inherent in his nature, and therefore he ca&- 



IX THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 333 

not but require service from us, which we cannot per- 
form. If he could be pleased with any thing that, 
in our fallen state, we can do, he must be pleased 
with sin, and must forfeit till the glory of his name 
as the Holy One of Israel, who is of purer eyes than 
to behold sin or to look upon iniquity. 

If you ask why he does not confer upon all sinners 
such a measure of help, that they may be enabled 
to merit something still better from him by the good 
improvement of what they have, I would ask you 
two or three questions in return. What claim have 
all men upon God for that grace which you think he 
ought to bestow upon them, and what reason have 
you to think, that, if all men were put in possession 
of that little strength, which you think they might 
improve to such advantage, they would make use of 
it to the end for which it was given them ? 

What claim have fallen men to that grace which 
you think would be so useful to them ? Have they 
not justly incurred the curse of God ? Is there un- 
righteousness with him who says, " Cursed is every 
one that continueth not in all things which are writ- 
ten in the book of the law to do them?-' But if this 
curse is not- only deserved, but incurred, if men are 
by nature children of wrath, the wonder is not that 
all men are not made partakers of some measure of 
grace, sufficient, if well improved, to procure more 
grace, but that any son of man was ever made a par- 
taker of that grace which seems to be entirely exclu- 
ded by the curse. Is not God impartial in his re- 
venging justice ? Why then are not all men punished 
as well as devils, according to their doings ? Say not, 
that the sin of fallen angels was worse than the sin of 



334 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

man, and therefore they deserved more grievous 
punishment. How do you know that their first sin 
was as much worse than yours as you suppose ? But 
let it be supposed a hundred times more criminal than 
the sin of man, impartial justice demands that the 
lesser, as well as the greater criminal, should be 
punished according to his demerit. It is no less just 
that he who deserves the lash should be scourged, 
than that he who deserves the gibbet should be hang- 
ed. Now we must learn from the sentence of the 
law what the sin of man deserved. We deserved 
death no less than devils, although devils, who were 
our tempters, might deserve a more horrible death. 
To say, therefore, that God dealt hardly with fallen 
man, because he has not been pleased to bestow 
some degree of grace upon him, is, in effect, to al- 
lege that he is not good because he is righteous ; that 
he uses us harshly because he will not deny himself 5 
that, if he is not altogether such as ourselves, he is 
the less to be respected by us, because he prefers his 
own dignity to the interests of those criminals who 
have treated his laws with disdain. 

But how do you know that, if all men had receiv- 
ed a small stock of grace, they would have improved 
it to such good purposes as you allege ? We received 
in our father Adam a perfect ability for the doing of 
God's commandments, and rectitude of disposition 
for the proper improvement of our powers. What 
use did we make of our powers ? God made man up- 
right, but he sought out many inventions. How do 
you know you could make a better use of a little 
stock of holiness, opposed by the mighty power of 
your natural corruption, than Adam did of the com- 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. S$B 

plete holiness of his nature, unopposed by any ten- 
dency to sin ? 

God hath bestowed upon us very precious gifts in 
the faculties and powers of-our souls. Many talents 
are allotted to us, of which we might make great use 
for our advancement in understanding and virtue. 
But are there any of us that make such use as might 
be made of them ? If there are, have we not reason 
to acknowledge that our improvement of our talents 
is no less a gift from God than the talents themselves ? 

God bestows sanctifying grace upon all true be- 
lievers, and they " keep themselves that the wicked 
one toucheth them not.^ 5 But whence is it that they 
keep themselves ? Not by their own power, but by 
the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in them. Leave 
them to themselves, and the grace which they have 
received will die out, and leave them involved in de- 
struction and perdition. 

I might ask further of those who would have God 
to bestow a little stock of grace upon all men, that, 
by the good improvement of it, they might entitle 
themselves to more, how they are to entitle them- 
selves to more by the improvement of what the) r 
have. There are only two conceivable ways of en- 
titling themselves to more by the improvement of 
what they have — either by merit of soma kind in 
what they do, or by a promise annexed to the per- 
formance of certain conditions. The former of these 
ways is hopeless, for who can merit any thing at 
God 5 s hand ? " Who hath first given unto him, and 
it shall be recompensed unto him again ?" The se- 
cond is no less hopeless ; for all the promises made 
to sinful men are yea and ameu in Christ. And there 



336 ON ^THE SOVEREIGNTY Of £PvA6E 

Is no other possible way of making them yea and 
amen, when the curse of God must stand in full force 
to every sinner, till he is made a partaker of the sal- 
vation of Christ. Is it possible that the curse of the 
law can bind us over to condemnation, and that we 
at the same time should be qualified to procure to 
ourselves the favour of God, by the performance of 
certain conditions, however easy in the performance ? 
Either the curse or the promise must, in that case 3 
be made of no effect. 

On the whole, it appears that if it is the will of 
God to extend grace to us, it must be done, not by 
conferring some degree of goodness to put us into a 
condition of trafficking with heaven for more. This 
cannot be done either to the glory of God or our own 
benefit; but he must give us at once abundance of 
grace, and of the gift of righteousness, by delivering 
us from the power of darkness, and translating us 
into the kingdom of his dear Son. In Christ Jesus 
we are created unto good works, not that our salva- 
tion may be suspended upon our due improvement of 
the grace given us, but that, under the almighty in- 
fluence of the Spirit of Christ, we may walk forward 
in the ways of God, being assured that he who hath 
begun the work of grace in us, will keep us from fal- 
ling, and at last present us faultless before the pre- 
sence of his glory with exceeding joy. I conclude 
with some exhortations. 

1. Seek to obtain the knowledge of the law of 
God, that, in the light of it, you may know your 
natural corruption, your utter inability to do any good 
thing, or to obtain for yourselves a title to the favour 
of God. If you are alive in your own conceit, it ia 



flff THE CONVERSION OF SltftfgRS. 337 

because you are without the law. When the com- 
mandment comes in its light and power, you will 
find that you are dead men, and as unfit to merit any 
thing from God, as a dead man to work, Rom. vii. 9. 

2. Be willing to know and to acknowledge the 
worst concerning yourselves. " A man's pride will 
bring him low." If you were as high as the morn- 
ing-star, your pride would bring you down to the 
lower parts of the earth. We are already brought 
very low by our sins, why should we bring ourselves 
still lower by our pride ? I will put you in mind of 
two ways of speaking, as opposite to one another as 
that of the Pharisee and publican. The one is that 
of the hypocrite, spoken of, Isa. lviii. " Wherefore 
have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not ? Where- 
fore have we afflicted our souls, and thou takest no 
knowledge?" You see their sentiments were the 
same with yours, who think that, by your good works, 
or by the best ill works in your power, you may pro- 
cure some title to the favour of God. But did they 
obtain any thing of the Lord ? Although they took 
delight in approaching to God, he repelled their ad- 
vances with indignation. 

The other way of speaking of which I put you ia 
mind, is that of the good centurion who said to Jesus, 
" I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my 
roof." His Jewish friends told Jesus that he was 
worthy of a cure to his servant, but he reckoned him- 
sdf not worthy that Jesus should come under his roof. 
How different was his spirit from theirs who think 
themselves worthy that Jesus should come into their 
hearts, and enrich them with all the blessings of his 
grace! 



338 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

3. Let all your hope be placed in the mercy of the 
Lord. " It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that 
runneth." What then? Does the apostle mean to 
drive us to despair? If we can do nothing that will 
give us the least shadow of title to the favour of God, 
is not our strength and hope utterly gone ? Your 
strength and hope is utterly perished from man, but 
not from the Lord. You can do nothing to entitle 
yourselves to the divine mercy ; but the Lord hath 
mercy on whom he will have mercy. His mercy is 
revealed to you, and you are called to come to his 
mercy-seat that you may obtain mercy, and find grace 
to help in the time of need, Matt. xix. 

4. Endeavour diligently to continue using the 
means of grace. Say not, To what purpose, since 
we can do nothing to please God? For this very rea- 
son you are to use them, because you can do nothing. 
u With man, indeed, it is impossible," says our Lord, 
u but with God all things are possible ; ,? and where 
are you most likely to meet with him, and to obtain 
that mercy which you so greatly need ? Is he not 
found in his own institutions ? There he has been of- 
ten found of those that never sought him, nor could 
seek him, in an acceptable manner, Eph. i. 13. Acts 
throughout. 

5. Be not satisfied with the use of means, without 
obtaining that grace which you ought to seek in them. 
It is unwise for men to continue long in the place of 
the breaking forth of children, You never work the 
work of God, if you do not believe on him whom he 
hath sent. 

Do not think that your religious attainments will 
be a security against the wrath of God and the curse 



IN THE CONVERSION" OF SINNERS. 339 

of his law. Christ is your only security. What 
could it avail the lawyer spoken of Mark xii. 31. 
that he was not far from the kingdom of God, if he 
was not translated into it ?- What does it avail a pa- 
tient to have a prospect of his recovering his health, 
if that prospect is not realized ? It may be very preju- 
dicial to him, by making him careless about employ- 
ing the physician, There is not salvation in any oth- 
ef* but in Christ, and none shall perish more misera- 
bly than those who die within sight of this Saviour. 

We do not insult you when we call upon you to be- 
lieve on Christ, although you cannot believe on him 
except the Father draw you. We publish in your ears 
the commandment of God, and it is certainly a gra- 
cious commandment, not intended to ensnare you, but 
to direct you in the path of life. Nor ought you to 
decline obedience to it, because you cannot obey it by 
your own strength, when it is in the strength of God 
that we call you to obey it. " In his name," say* 
God, " shall the Gentiles trust. 5 ' Thousands, millions 
of the Gentiles have already been made, by his grace, 
to trust in Christ ; and he that gathers the outcasts 
of Israel with the Gentiles to the blessed Shiloh, saith, 
w Yet will I gather others unto him besides those that 
are gathered unto him." 

B\;t perhaps ycu have frequently attempted in vain 
to take hold of God's covenant. Your most ardent 
wishes have been disappointed. Your hopes have 
deceived you. You have laboured for nought and in 
rn vain, and therefore no hope is left for you. You 
must either lie -down in sorrow and despair, or force 
awsty your thoughts from the wretchedness of your 
condition and prospects, by following after those straji- 



340 t>K THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

gers that you formerly loved, and seeking such relief 
from the fulfilling of worldly lusts as it can afford. 

God forbid that you should fall off from your dili- 
gent attendance upon the means of grace, or relax in 
your care to improve them, or that, in despair of ob- 
taining the best blessings, you should endeavour to 
find the life of your souls in worldly or sensual lusts. 
What could more effectually harden your spirits, of 
provoke God to leave you to wander forever in the 
way of your own hearts, till hopeless perdition be- 
comes your portion? What condition can be more 
dreadful than that of backsliders, who shall be filled 
with their own way? How tremendous are these 
words of our Lord Jesus Christ ! — " When the evil 
spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry 
places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, 
I will return unto my house from whence I came out ; 
and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and 
garnished. Then goeth he, and tak&th with himself 
seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they 
come and dwell there ; and the last state of that man is 
worse than his first* Even so shall it be also unto 
this wicked generation," That wicked generation 
enjoyed such means of grace as had never been en- 
joyed, the ministry of John Baptist, who was greater 
than any that had been ever born of women before 
him, and the ministry of Jesus himself. Many were 
willing for a season to rejoice in the light of John, 
and came and were baptized of him in the river Jor- 
dan, confessing their sins, and promising to renounce 
them. Many heard the words of Jesus likewise with 
joy, and promised to bring forth much fruit. But the 
impressions made udoii them were transient. The 



m THE CONVERSION OP DINNERS, 341 

tlevil was. in appearance^ cast out of them, and they 
refused to perform that service to him which they had 
formerly done. But their religious affections decay- 
ed. They forgot that theyjwere purged from their 
old sins, and plunged themselves deeper than ever in 
the horrible pit of iniquity. The Spirit, whom they 
had vexed and quenched, left them. The devil reco- 
vered his former possession, and carried them cap- 
live at his will. 

Faroe it from us, you will say, to entertain the 
lought of seeking that rest in the gratifications of earth- 
ly or sensual desires, which can be found only in Christ. 
But we find ourselves in danger of sinking into despon- 
cy from frequent disappointments. V'e have sought 
toenter into the way of life, but have not been able : 
why should we wait for the Lord any longer ? 
But why have so many sought to enter in, and have 
not been able ? The great reason why the Jews did 
not enter in, was because they sought righteousness, 
not by faith, but by the works of the law. " Labour 
to enter into God's rest, that you fall not after the same 
example of unbelief." One great reason why you 
have not hitherto sought, by faith unfeigned, to enter 
into the wav of life, was, that you entertained secret 
hopes that you might at last, by your ow r n exertions, 
obtain what you sought. You were not perhaps suffi- 
ciently sensible of the great truths we have been en- 
deavouring to impress upon your minds, your utter 
inability either to work faith in yourselves, ov to do 
any thing to move the compassion of God, or to merit 
his favor. Experience of your inability to do or to me- 
rit any thing truly good, may shut you up to the faith. 
Commit yo.ur way wholly unto the Lord. Look to 
E*e 2 



342 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OP GRACE 

Christ for power to believe. Attend to his quicken- 
ing voice. The words which he speaks are spirit and 
life. " Awake, thou that sleepest, arise from the dead,, 
and Christ shall give thee light." 

Have you believed through grace ? You see to whom 
all the glory is t© be ascribed. Magnify him who 
hath done great things for you ; and never forget that, 
not for your sakes, but for his own name's sake, he 
hath made a happy change in your condition. Let 
that grace which hath done wonders for you be your 
trust, your joy, your praise. Walk humbly with your 
God, and shew the truth of your faith, and the efficacy 
of the doctrine of free grace, by all holy conversation 
and godliness. 

Finally, learn from this subject how r needful it is to 
join earnest prayer to God with all the means that 
you may use for the conversion and salvation of 
others. You may persuade them to do many things, 
as Herod was persuaded by John to do much, but you 
cannot persuade any man into a state of salvation. 
Instruct, correct, admonish your children in obedience 
to God ; but do these things under the persuasion 
that, if they are born again, it must be not of the will 
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. What- 
ever you do for the advantage of any souls will be of 
no use but to render them more inexcusable, unless the 
grace of God make it effectual ; for " it is not of him 
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that 
sheweth mercy." 






IN THE CONVERSION OF SINKERS, 343 

DISCOURSE III, 

But of God that shezveth mercy. Rom. ix. 16. 

WHEN we confine our views to ourselves, we 
find nothing but sorrow and vexation ; but w r hen we 
look to the blessed God, we see light and gladness. 
" It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that run- 
neth." If we stop here, we sink into despair. We 
are utterly lost. We can do nothing to relieve our- 
selves, or to procure the favour of him who alone 
can help us. " But of God that sheweth mercy." 
The sound of mercy is music to our ears, sweet as 
the songs of angels. Let- us rejoice and be glad. 
The mercy, not of a creature, but of God, is our 
hope and our exceeding joy. 

Of our own utter inability to help ourselves, or to 
entitle ourselves to favour from God, we have alrea- 
dy heard. And if we have been humbled to the dust 
by the view of our own weakness and worthlessness ? 
we will attend with transports of joy to what the apos- 
tle says concerning the mercy of God. His words 
in this place teach us, that the free and sovereign 
mercy of God is the spring of our conversion and 
salvation. 

More particularly, the following instructions are 
comprehended in this text. 

1 . That our salvation is to be ascribed to the mer- 
cy of God. 

2. That the jnercy of God shines with a distin- 
guished lustre in our salvation. 

3» That this mercy is free. 



344 02? THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

4. That it is sovereign. 

£. That our dependence on the mercy of God for 
our salvation is a capital doctrine of the Bible, taught 
"by all the inspired writers, from Moses to the last 
of them. 

1. That our salvation is to be ascribed to the mer- 
cy of God. 

This appears from the account which Scripture 
gives, and which experience too well confirms, of 
the misery of our natural condition. We are fallen 
so low, that nothing but divine power can raise us 
up ; and what but mercy in God, equal to his power, 
could have moved him to raise us up from that wretch- 
ed condition which was the just punishment of our 
unprovoked rebellion against his government? We 
find the saints in Scripture frequently ascribing to the 
mercy of God their deliverance from sickness, their 
preservation in danger, their exaltation from a low 
to a prosperous condition. " I will praise thee, O 
Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify 
thy name for evermore ; for great is thy mercy to- 
wards me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the 
lowest heH." The lower that hell was from which 
he was delivered} the more gloriously was the mercy 
of God displayed in his deliverance, and the more 
deeply was his heart affected with gratitude. Now 
the lowest hell from which we can be delivered in 
this world, is that of which the same holy writer 
speaks when he says, Psal. exxx. " Out of the 
depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. If thou, 
Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall 
stand ?" Out of that hell he was delivered, and calls, 
upon Israel to hope in the Lord for the same, or the 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 3,45 

like displays of his grace, " Let Israel hope in the 
Lord ; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with 
him there is plenteous redemption, and he shall re- 
deem Israel from all his -iniquities," Psal. Ixxxvi. 
12, 13. cxxx. 

2. The mercy of God shines with a distinguished 
lustre amongst the divine perfections in our salva- 
tion. 

All the revealed attributes of God shine forth glo- 
riously in this blessed work. He sheweth strength 
with his arm in redeeming us from the worst of bon- 
dage. He is faithful and just in forgiving our sins, 
and in cleansing us from all unrighteousness. Mercy 
and truth meet together, righteousness and peace 
kiss each other. We cannot therefore sufficiently 
praise any of these divine perfections to which we 
are so infinitely indebted, and ought to be cautious 
of derogating from any divine attribute its just glo- 
ries, to exalt another. These glories perfectly har« 
monize in the face of Christ our Redeemer, and in 
the work of his Spirit. Yet this may be said, that 
the work of our salvation was designed above others 
for the display of God's pity to the miserable, and of 
his grace to the worthless. He displayed the glory 
of his power, of his wisdom, of his incomparable 
excellency in holiness and righteousness, when he 
created the heavens, and the earth, and their innu- 
merable hosts. He displayed the glory of his mer- 
cy from the beginning, in his kind administration of 
Providence towards sinful men. Yet the glory of 
these displays of his mercy appears chiefly in the 
work of salvation. Without a purpose of saving 
some of the lost race of Adam, there would have 



34$ ON THS SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

been no room for such wonders of patience, and for- 
bearance, and long-suffering goodness as these, of 
which all generations have been the witnesses. It 
is mercy that spares, for a time, those who must 
perish for ever, because they are not led by the good- 
ness of God to repentance. But hereby perceive 
we the divine excellency of the mercy of God, that 
he not only gives them space for repentance, and 
powerful motives, but actually bestows repentance 
unto life upon sinners. If they were not recovered 
from the snares of the devil by an Almighty arm, 
they would go on frowardly in the way of their hearts, 
till their condition become no less hopeless than that 
of the abhorred enemy of God and men* 

What is it but the loving kindness and mercy of the 
Lord that engaged all his divine perfections to co- 
operate for the salvation of sinful men ? 

What can be a more delightful subject of our con- 
templation, than the mercy of God, as it shines forth 
in all those mighty works that have been done, and 
will be done for us in Christ Jesus ? When we con- 
sider the irresistible operation of divine power, the 
flaming glories of his holiness, the inflexibility of 
his justice, we are filled with consternation if we 
forget that God is no less abundant in mercy than in 
righteousness. But every perfection of the divine 
nature is a fountain of joy, when we view it in its 
eo-operation with saving mercy. Then do we give 
thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Then, 
at every contemplation of the divine excellency, we 
break forth into transports of joyful praise.. " This 
God,*" so great and glorious beyond all our blessings 
and praises, u is our God for ever and ever 5 he will* 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 347 

be our guide unto death," and beyond death. "Glo- 
ry to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good 
will towards men." 

3. That mercv which saves us is free. 

«/ 

We do not mean only that it is not merited, but 
likewise that it is exercised towards us without the 
consideration of any works or conditions performed 
by us. If Adam had not sinned, he would not have 
merited the favour of God, but he would have been 
entitled to it through works of righteousness perfor- 
med by himself, according to the tenor of that cove- 
nant which God made with him. " The man that 
doth these things shall live by them." But we have 
the decisive authority of the apostle for asserting, that 
the language of the gospel is quite different from that 
of the law, and that boasting, which is admitted by 
the one, is excluded by the other, Rom. iii. 27. x. 
5, 6, 7, 8. 

That the mercy which converts and saves us must 
be absolutely free, is evident from the natural state of 
men. "We ourselves were sometimes," he says. 
" foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts 
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and 
hating one another ; but after that, the love and kind- 
ness of God our Saviour towards men appeared, not 
by works of righteousness which we have done, but 
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing 
of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." 

" Tell me," says Paul, " ye that desire to be under 
the law, f do ye not hear the law ?" The same address 
we may make to all that would suspend our faith in the 
mercy of God upon conditions which must be performed 
by ourselves. These are the men who still desire to 



348 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF CRAC&* 

be under the law, though they would have the law 
modified to suit their condition and abilities. But 
what the law said from the beginning, it still contin- 
ues, and will continue to the end to say, " Cursed is 
every one that continueth not in all things which are 
written in the book of the law to do them. 55 We can 
do nothing to procure the favour of God, unless we 
could deliver ourselves from the curse. Whilst it lies 
upon us, we are cursed in all the work of our hands. 

Had we only one sin to answer for, it must utterly 
preclude all hopes of recommending ourselves to the 
mercy of God, till it is done away. The best servi- 
ces that all the saints ever performed to God, from the 
days of Adam to this hour, were they all collected in- 
to one sum, would not be a ransom for one sinner, 
nor a price for the pardon of one sin. How absurd 
then is it to imagine that we can in any sense, entitle 
ourselves to the converting grace of God, by any ser- 
vices done to him before our conversion, when it is cer- 
tain that, even at our highest attainments, we are con- 
tinually adding to the number of these sins, not one 
of which can be pardoned but for God 5 s own name's 
sake through the blood of Christ ? 

Do you need pardon ? This question, you will say ? 
is needless. Who does not need pardon ? Who does 
not confess that he needs it ? But if you must be 
glad to receive the pardon of your sins from God, 
you must receive it as the gift of free mercy. This 
Paul plainly considers as an incontrovertible truth, 
when he produces a text that speaks of the blessed- 
ness of the pardoned sinner, as a proof of his doc- 
trine of righteousness without works ; " Even as Da- 
vid described! the blessedness of the man unto whom 



m THE CONVERSION OF SIKNEKS. 349 

the Lord imputeth righteousness without works/ 5 
Where does David describe the blessedness of such 
a man ? Where, in any of his Psalms, or of his 
speeches recorded in the history of his life, do we 
find a righteousness without works spoken of ? We 
no where find these express words ; but we find words 
of the same meaning, Psal. xxxii. 1,2. " Blessed 
is the man whose iniquity is forgiven, and whose sin 
is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord 
will not impute sin.* 1 If any of our works or attain- 
ments could procure Divine mercy to blot out any of 
our trespasses, the apostle^s argument would be in- 
conclusive. Our sins would be pardoned, ancLwe 
would partake of the blessedness that accompanies, 
is involved in pardon, or follows it, without that kind 
of righteousness of which the apostle speaks. 

u When I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, 55 
said God to his ancient people, " behold thy time 
was the time of love, and I spread my skirt over thee, 
and covered thy nakedness. 55 In what situation had 
he found this object of his love ? Was there any 
thing amiable and attractive to engage him to take 
her into such a near relation to himself? Far from it* 
Every thing in her appearance was forbidding and 
repulsive. He saw her lying polluted in her blood, 
and he said unto her when she was in her blood, 
Live. Then washed he her with water, and anoin- 
ted her with oil, and made her comely with his come- 
liness put upon her. Was not this free and unde- 
served love ? Such is the love of God to all whom he 
saves. His loving kindness and his pity arc not 
more merited by sinners of the Gentiles, than by the 
nation of the Jews. Jews and Gentiles were aJ 

Ff 



350 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

equally under sin before God, He hath concluded 
all under sin, that the salvation of all might clearly 
appear to be the fruit of that love, which finds no 
cause for itself in its objects. We love, because we 
find something lovely in the persons whom we love. 
God loves because he loves, and because he is 
love. 

4. Sovereignty is one of the glories of that grace 
by which we are converted and saved. If it is free, 
it must be sovereign. If there is no cause in men 
why they should partake of such precious blessings, 
they must be dispensed by the Most High, according 
to his ow r n will. He gives to some what he does not 
give to others, not for any reason to be found in those r 
from whom it is withheld, or to whom it is given, but 
according to the good pleasure of his will. 

When we say that the reasons are not to be found 
any more in those from whom grace is withheld than 
in those to whom it is given, do not mistake our mean- 
ing, as if we had said that God does not find sufficient 
reason in sinful men to deny them his grace. We 
have only said, that the reason of the distinction 
made by the divine sovereignty is to be found only 
in God himself. He certainly finds sufficient reason 
in themselves to withhold his grace from those on 
whom it is not bestowed. They are all sinners, and 
deserve no favour. Some of them are stubborn and 
outrageous offenders, who have, by their presumptu- 
ous rebellions, provoked God to harden and blind 
them by his awful judgments. But let it be remem- 
bered, that these causes of condemnation are to be 
found with those on whom God confers his grace, no 
less than on those from whom it is withheld ; or, if 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 35! 

they have not proceeded to the same lengths of wick- 
edness with some others, they were, at least, guilty 
of those rebellions which might have justly provoked 
God to inflict the same spiritual judgments upon them, 
which render the condition of their fellow sinners 
hopeless. This appears plain from what Paul says 
of the condition of the Gentiles, in the first chapter 
of his epistle to the Romans. There he tells us, that 
because they worshipped and served the creature 
more than the Creator, they were given up to vile af- 
fections and to a reprobate mind. Was it not just that 
all these men should be left to perish forever, who 
had brought upon themselves such awful tokens of the 
divine displeasure ? Yet millions of them w r ere saved 
by the grace of God, whilst others were left to eat the 
fruit of their own doings. 

The sovereignty of the grace of God in saving 
men, is by many denied, and even those who will 
not venture to deny what appears so plain from Scrip- 
ture and experience, can scarcely be reconciled to 
the thoughts of it. That God should save some 
great sinners, and leave others in a state of perdi- 
tion, who have been less guilty, appears to them 
strange and unaccountable. I w r ould ask such per- 
sons, as the apostle does, " Who hath known the 
mind of the Lord ? or, who hath been his counsellor ? 
or, who hath first given unto the Lord, and it shall 
be recompensed to him again ? M Elihu's question is 
no less pertinent, and no less unanswerable : " Who 
hath given him a charge over the earth, or who hath 
disposed the whole world ? He that pretends to in- 
struct God, let him answer it." 

God certainly knows better than we can direct 



352 OH THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GBAC1 

him, how to manage the affairs both of the presen? 
world and the next ; when, and how, and to whom 
to dispense the blessings of time and eternity. His 
understanding is infinite, his righteousness is inva- 
riable, and his mercy is above the heavens* 

You will not deny that God gives riches, and hon- 
ours, and long life to whom he pleases, and that he 
often withholds these blessings from better men than 
those on whom he confers them. Will you therefore 
quarrel with him ? " Woe to him that striveth with his 
Maker. Let the potsherds strive with the potsherds 
of the earth. Shall the thing formed say to him that 
formed it, Why hast thou made me thus ? or thy work, 
He hath no hands !*? 

Do you think that God ought to have converted 
and saved all men ? But do not all men deserve con- 
demnation ? The Scripture, which cannot be broken* 
says, that judgment is come upon all men to con- 
demnation. Is this condemnation unrighteousness ? 
Then it is not judgment, but the hand of unrelent- 
ing tyranny that is come upon us to condemnation. 
But if the condemnation is just, what are we to think 
of those who say that it would not be right to exe- 
cute the awful sentence upon any one of the crimi- 
nals, or upon all of them without exception ? If so, 
then it is by pure grace that any of them are exempt* 
ed; and, if it is pure grace that exempts them, it 
must have a good right to select its objects. 

Those who dislike the doctrine of the sovereignty 
of divine grace, are no less enemies to the law than to 
the gospel. If they were sensible of the justice of the 
law in its penal sanction, their mouths would be stop- 



fll THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 353 

ped from reflections upon the Lawgiver, in executing 
his sentence against the least guilty of our race. 

Did not Christ, the Son of God, die for the redemp- 
tion of all that should be saved ? Surely you will not 
deny this truth. You will not allege that any of the 
guilty race of Adam can obtain eternal life in any 
other way but through the mediation of Jesus Christ. 
But if you say that God is under any obligations to 
spare any sinner, and allow at the same time the ne- 
cessity of the death of Christ for our salvation, you 
say in effect that God could not be righteous without 
sending; his Son into the world to die far men* There 
is no salvation but through his death ; and if it would 
be inconsistent with the justice or goodness of God 
to doom any sinner to death, it would have been no 
less unworthy of him to have withheld any of those 
means that were necessary to preserve them from 
death. What reason then have we to admire the love 
af God in the death of Christ ! We do not ascribe 
much praise to any man for doing an action, which 
he must have been wanting in common equity not to 
have done, 

Now r ifthe salvation of any man is a work of such 
wonderful grace, that a divinely excellent righteous- 
ness was necessary to render it consistent with the 
justice of God, there can be nothing inconsistent with 
justice in consigning him to perdition, if he is not a 
partaker of that righteousness ;- and who will say that 
he is possessed of any claim to that righteousness 
which can be obtained only in the way of gift from 
heaven ? Is the blood of Christ so cheap in your eyes, 
that m$Q may purchase it by their own works, even 
before they can do any thing well pleasing to God f 
' F f 2 



354 0K THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

If the salvation of Christ, and if the righteousness 
by which it was obtained, must be the gifts of a -boun- 
ty as large as the heart of God himself, we must leave 
it to the Most High to confer them on whom he plea- 
ses. Neither riches, nor birth, nor genius, nor human 
virtues and accomplishments, can merit his favour; 
and therefore it w T ould be daring presumption to think 
that, he wrongs his creatures when he pays no re- 
spect to them in the distribution of his best blessings. 

Times alter. Learn to repeat the creed and 
the commandments. Come to church at the stated 
times. Pay the tithes of your grounds, or of your 
gains, to the clergy. If you do these, and perhaps a 
few other things of equal importance, you need not be 
afraid to appear at the judgment seat. You may bold- 
ly claim heaven, and say, ' Lord, give me the inheri- 
tance, for I have deserved it.' Such was once the 
doctrine that usually sounded from the pulpits of Chris- 
tendom. We now ridicule, or we deplore the blindness 
of our forefathers ; but are we better than they, if we 
imagine that God ought to bestow his special favours 
upon honest and virtuous men, upon those who are 
kind to the poor in their neighbourhood, upon dutiful 
children, or upon any class of men that behave bet- 
ter than their neighbours, although the love of God is 
not in them, rather than upon persons who have 
never distinguished themselves by any good quality. 
They may deserve an easier hell, but surely they do 
not deserve heaven. They have done less to pro- 
voke God to anger than some others have done, but 
they have done nothing to entitle themselves to his 
favour. When there is a rebellion in the land, the en- 

: es of the king may be of very different characters. 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 355 

Some of them may behave with great fidelity to their 
party, with 'great humanity to their distressed neigh- 
bours. They may acquire high reputation by shi- 
ning qualities and by amiable virtues. But is the king 
bound to pardon their treasons against himself, be- 
cause they have behaved well to their equals or infe- 
riors ? Why then should we imagine that the eternal 
king is under any obligation to pardon his enemies, 
because they have deserved well of their country or 
of their friends ? He is infinite in mercy, but his mer- 
cy is not the reward of human merit. It is absolute- 
ly free ; and, that it may appear to be free, it is regu* 
lated in its exercise, not by considerations taken from 
sinful creatures, but by the unerring wisdom and ab- 
solute will of him whom we have all offended. 

It is the glory of God to be the sovereign dispenser 
of his own blessings, and above all, of those best bles- 
sings which are the fruits of special love. When Mo- 
ses earnestly requested the Lord to shew him his glo- 
ry, the Lord said unto him, " I will make all my good- 
ness pass before thee, and J will proclaim the name of 
the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom 
I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I 
will shew mercy." From this answer to the petition 
of Moses, it appears that God places his glory in his 
goodness, and in the sovereignty of his goodness. 
He will do justice to all his creatures, without respect 
of persons, but he will exercise his mercy and loving 
kindness to whom he pleases. What glory could he 
receive from all the immense benefactions he bestows 
upon his creatures, if he did nothing but what he is 
under obligation to do ? We do not reckon ourselves 
very highly indebted to those benefactors, who confer 



356 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

no favours upon us but what they could not, without 
dishonour, refuse. 

The sovereignty of mercy is no less comfortable tt> 
us than glorious to God. It will not afford much com* 
fort to men who think that their sins are not great or 
many, or who think that God ought to pardon all sin- 
ners without exception; but it will be the comfort 
and joy of all who have believed through grace, be- 
cause they will see reason to ascribe to it their salva- 
tion. And not only believers, but all who have been 
made duly sensible of the great evil of their sins, 
will find reason to rejoice, not only that there is mer- 
cy and plenteous redemption with God, but likewise 
that this mercy bestows its blessing upon men, not 
for any thing in themselves, but according to the good 
pleasure of God^ goodness.. 

"Whence is it, but from the sovereignty of divine 
mercy, that God loved our world rather than fallen 
angels, and gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- 
ever believeth on him should not perish ? Some tell 
us that the sin of fallen angels was greater than the 
sin of men ? How do they know this ? Ask them what 
was the peculiar nature, and what were the aggrava- 
tions of the sin of angels, that they may compare 
their offence with our first sin in Adam, which we 
know to be an horrible breach of God's covenant, 
blackened by many highly aggravating circumstances. 
They will confess that they know nothing about the 
sin of the angels, except that pride was a prominent 
circumstance, if not the whole of it. But there was 
intolerable pride in our first sin also. Now, till men 
can give us more light about the first sin of devils, 
they speak without certain knowledge when they say 



IN THE CONVERSION OP SINNERS. 351 

that our sin -was less inexcusable than theirs. It 
ought likewise to be considered, that salvation, 
through faith, is revealed and offered to us, after we 
have brought ourselves under the guilt of innumerable 
offences, many of them of such a nature as devils were 
never capable of committing. For one sin they were 
cast out of heaven, and reserved in everlasting chains, 
under darkness, to the judgment of the great day. 
Never did they reject a Saviour, and insult the grace 
of God calling them to repentance, as we have done 
a thousand times. Are we not exceedingly ungrate- 
ful, if we are displeased with that sovereignty which 
has made such a blessed difference between us and 
the angels that kept not their primitive integrity? 
Let none but devils blaspheme that just power which 
God claims and exercises, of doing what he will 
with his own. 

We enjoy many blessings of a distinguishing na- 
ture. What is the reason why God gives us these 
revelations of his mercy, with which so few other 
nations are favoured ? Is it because we deserve bet- 
ter at God's hand than the people of China or Japan ? 
They may be chargeable with vices that appear to 
human judgment more atrocious than ours : but, in the 
estimation of God, unbelief and impenitence under 
the dispensation of the gospel, are more criminal than 
the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. To what then, 
but to sovereign mercy, are we to ascribe our happy 
privileges ? 

Why are we preserved from those vices which dis- 
grace many in our own land ? Is it the superior good- 
ness, of our natures, or our wise improvement of our 
advantages, that hag hitherto kept us from those cry- 



358 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

ing iniquities, by which the condition of many of ou? 
fellow-sinners is rendered almost desperate? Is it not 
the same God who kept Abimelech from 1 adultery, 
that has preserved us from the worst of crimes ? 

Are we not convinced that we have been left to 
commit sins in a far greater number, and attended 
with far blacker aggravations, than thousands and 
millions of persons already consigned to the burning 
lake. If God is not to dispense his mercy according 
to his own sovereign rule, but according to regula- 
tions prescribed to him by his guilty creatures, no 
rule will appear more reasonable to us than this, 
that sinners whose crimes are fewest, or least inex- 
cusable, should partake of his mercy, and that none 
of the chief of sinners should be suffered to escape. 
According to this rule, Paul, the blasphemer and 
persecutor, would have been shut out of heaven, and 
his place would have been occupied by some of those 
miserable creatures, who must groan for ever under 
the intolerable wrath of the Almighty. Salvation, 
according to this principle, ought to be bestowed 
upon none of those hearers of the gospel who have 
long continued impenitent ; but, by some of those 
methods which Divine wisdom and power can easily 
devise and execute, those Gentiles that have never 
poured any contempt upon the Redeemer, ought to be 
put in possession of those blessings of which many of 
us have rendered ourselves so unworthy. 

Another rule which some would prescribe to the 
great Sovereign, is, that those who do what they can 
in a natural state, ought to be made partakers of his 
grace, and careless or profane sinners rejected. 
But what will any man do, in a natural state, to please 



2N THE CONVERSION OP SINNERS • 3M) 

God ? They may do much from the principle of self- 
love, but they do nothing from a principle of love to 
God. And whence is it that they do any thing, even 
from a regard to their own interest, that indicates a 
regard to the law or gospel of God ? What is it that 
makes some persons serious, whilst others are profane 5 
that disposes some to think with deep concern about 
their own salvation, whilst others walk on inconsider- 
ately in the way of their own hearts ? Is it not the 
providence of God, and the operation of his Spirit 
accompanying his word, that makes the difference 
between one unregenerate man and another? God 
owes nothing to the best of them : for whatever they 
do, do they it not for themselves ? Do they fast, and 
pray, and think of their ways for God, even for God ? 
It is true they give that attention which others do not, 
to the w : ord c L ' God, and the word of God may take 
hold of their hearts whilst they are hearing it. or 
thinking of it. But it was sovereign mercy that dis- 
posed them to attend to the means of grace, and it is 
the same sovereign mercy that gives them efficacy 
upon their hearts. 

Men may raise a thousand objections against God's 
prerogative of dispensing his mercy according to his 
own will. For my part, I am firmly persuaded that 
all my hope must rest upon the richness and sove- 
reignty of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. I ana 
persuaded that millions already in hell were far less 
criminal, when they left the world, than 1 have been. 
I am sensible that I can never make myself a fitter 
subject of mercy than I am at this moment, and that 
I must therefore follow- to the pit those miserable 
wretches that are groaning under the wrath of God 



360 @N THE SOVEREIGNTY OF ©RACE 

in the place of damnation, unless I am plucked as a 
brand out of the burning. A doctrine so necessary 
to my hope and peace, as the sovereignty of divine 
mercy, I hope never to renounce. 

5. The sovereignty of divine mercy in our salva- 
tion, is a doctrine taught through every part of the 
Scripture. Paul refers, in our text, to the words of 
Moses, quoted in the foregoing verse, as a proof of 
what he says on this subject. He quotes other texts 
from Moses, from Isaiah, from David, from Hosea, 
from Joel, to shew that God would not confine his 
mercy to the Jews, but make the Gentiles sharers in 
his salvation, whilst the body of the Israelitish nation 
was rejected. 

Doctrines clearly taught in any one part of the 
Bible are firmly to be believed. Doctrines spread 
through every part of the Old and New Testament 
are capital articles of our religion, w T hich ought to 
be the subject of our frequent consideration. When 
God speaks, not only once or twice, but many times, 
his repetitions of his own truths are not vain. What 
he causes frequently to come under our view, must 
merit a proportional share of our regard. 

On the whole, we learn where our hope of salva- 
tion must be placed. It must not be placed in any 
degree, or in any manner, upon ourselves, but upon 
that mercy which finds its reasons for its benefactions 
in itself. " Not for your sakes do I this, saith the 
Lord, be it known unto you." We endeavour to 
defraud the Lord of the glory which he seeks in our 
salvation, if we pretend to claim it as a debt due to 
ourselves. 

That you may not be left without a sure ground of 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNEKS. 36 1 

hope in that mercy which God exercises according 
to his own will, he discovers to you the abundance 
of his grace in his word, and in that gracious cove- 
nant established in ChristJesus, of which the gospel 
is the revelation. " God so loved the world, that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believ- 
eth in him may not perish, but have everlasting life." 
When Naomi reflected that Boaz was her near kins- 
man, she advised her daughter-in-law to cast herself 
at his feet, and request to be taken into a marriage 
relation with him, because he was her near kinsman. 
Ruth followed the advice, and did not meet with a 
disappointment. Have we not far greater encourage- 
ment to cast ourselves at the feet of him who volun- 
tarily became our near kinsman, that in him God 
might shew forth the exceeding riches of his grace 
to all that should believe in his name ? 

When we are overawed with a sense of God's ab- 
solute dominion, and of the displays which he gives 
of it in the administration of grace, let us comfort 
ourselves with the thoughts of that infinite condescen- 
sion, by which he gives us a claim upon that mercy 
which he delights to glorify in our salvation. In his 
mercy he hath promised and sworn, that all might 
have strong consolation who flee for refuge to lay hold 
on the life set before them* 

When we hope in the mercy of God revfealed m 
his word, the sovereignty of that mercy greatly pro- 
motes our consolation as well as our humility. — 
Whilst we dare not advance any claims founded upon 
worth in ourselves, the most formidable objections 
against faith and hope are effectually removed. We 



362 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE, &C. 

are despicable creatures, unworthy of the notice of 
him to whom it is a condescension to behold the che- 
rubim and seraphim ; but " he hath chosen the most 
despised things of the world, and the things that are 
not, to bring to nought the things that are." We 
are great sinners. When we are deeply convinced 
of sin, we will be disposed to think that no sins are 
like our sins. We will see that what we call our 
righteousnesses, stand in need of pardoning mercy 
as well as our sins. Where shall we find -relief un- 
der such thoughts of our extreme depravity, but in 
the sovereignty of divine compassion ? If those sin- 
ners only are to be saved, whose iniquities are least 
inexcusable, what will become of me, says the awa- 
kened sinner? Whatever excuses others may offer, 
my mouth must be for ever stopped. Unless the 
mercy of God be sovereignly free, my strength and 
my hope is perished, not only from myself, but from 
the Lord. I must be for ever cast out of his sight. 

But since I know that God will have mercy on 
whom he will have mercy, I will look towards his 
holy temple. He saves great sinners that he may 
glorify his great name,, and therefore I will hope in 
him. He seeks opportunities to shew the sovereign- 
ty of his grace, and where can he find a better op- 
portunity for shewing forth all the shining glories of 
his boundless mercy and his saving power? Psal 
cxlvii. 11. Psal. xx\% 11. 



D I S C O U R S E S 



e:f tie 



MEANS TO BE USED 



CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 



DISCOURSES, &e. 



DISCOURSE I. 

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one 
convert him, let him know that he which conxtrteth 
the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul 
from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. James 
v. 19. 20, 

i; THY word is truth, 5 * says our Lord- Every 
part of the doctrine of God respecting either those 
things which we ought to believe concerning God or 
respecting our duty, is truth. We err from the truth, 
when we depart from the simplicity of the faith that 
is in Christ, or when our beans and practice are un- 
conformable to that law which is the rule of our duty. 
There are errors from the truth which are not incon- 
sistent with the life of the soul. Such was the error 
in judgment of those men who did not know, nor were 
persuaded in the first days of the gospel, that nothing 
was unclean of itself. The best men have a law in 
their members endeavouring continually to bring them 
into captivity* Yet they have reason to thank God, 
through Jesus Christ, when with their minds they 
serve the law of God, although with the flesh they 
serve the law of sin. 

G g 2 



366 ON THE M1AMS TO BE USED F0R 

The errors from the truth, of which the apostle 
James speaks in this place, are pernicious errors that 
hold men under the guilt of sin, and exclude them from 
eternal life \ for " he who converts a sinner from these 
errors, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a 
multitude of sins." 

There are errors in the mind no less fatal to men 
than gross sins in practice. If we seek salvation by 
the works of the law, and not by the faith of Christ 
without works, Christ is of no effect to us, we are fal- 
len from grace. Beware therefore of thinking that er- 
rors in judgment may be tolerated when the life ia 
good. How can the life be good, if we are not re- 
newed in the spirit of our minds ? 

Beware of saying, that all men are sinners, and 
therefore we shall have peace, although some parts of 
our conduct are reprehensible. It is very true that 
sin dwells in the best men ; but it is no less true, 
that no good man lives in sin. If you mean, that you 
may be in a state of salvation, although there have 
been, and may still be, things reprehensible in your 
conduct, after the most earnest endeavours by the Spi- 
rit to mortify sin, you say right. But if you mean, 
that you can enjoy peace with God whilst you share 
your favourite sins, however little they may appear, 
you are fatally mistaken. " Whosoever, 1 * says Christ, 
"shall break one of the least of my commandments, 
shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven $>. 
in c. in the church, not in its heavenly, but in its earth- 
ly state. In that place which we ordinarily call hea- 
ven, they can be neither great nor little: for nothing 
that defileth, or worketh abomination, ormaketh a lie, 
§an enter into the gates of the celestial city. 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS, 3S7 

If errors in judgment or practice are so dangerous^ 
with what vigilance ought we to watch, with what 
earnestness to pray, that we may be preserved from 
the paths of the destroyer ?~ 

Nor are we to confine our concern to ourselves^ 
or to those of our own household. If we see a man 
drawn unto death, or ready to be slain, and hide our 
eyes from his danger, or make frivolous excuses for 
withholding our help, the Searcher of hearts will 
take a severe account of our conduct. But the death 
of the body is a momentary evil. The second death 
is infinitely more dreadful than the first. If we 
can do any thing that may have a tendency to pre- 
vent this dreadful death, what awful punishment 
may we expect from God if we suffer opportuni- 
ties for this beneficent purpose to pass unimpro- 
ved ? 

But it is the business of the clergyman, some will 
say, to labour for the conversion of sinners, and let 
every man abide in the calling wherewith he is cal- 
led of God. True ; it is the work of ministers to 
preach the saving truths, and to call loudly upon 
sinners to be reconciled to God. Every man ougli^ 
to abide in the calling wherewith he is called of 
God. I. do not desire husbandmen and mechanics to 
take upon them the work of public preachers ; but 
can nothing be done for sinners to reclaim them 
from the evil of their ways, except what ministers 
are called to do in the exercise of their office ? You 
have a double calling in which you ought to walk 
with God. You have a calling in which you ought 
diligently to employ yourselves, that you may sup- 



368 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

port yourselves and your families ; that you may 
have something to give to your poor neighbours ; 
and that, by your industry and uprightness, you may 
adorn your profession. But are you not also parta- 
kers of an heavenly calling ? If you say that you are ' 
not, you say that you are not Christians. " Walk 
therefore worthy of this vocation wherewith you 
are called," as the apostle Paul enjoins, Eph. iv. 1» 
Among other exhortations included in this general 
injunction, mutual edification is recommended, Eph» 
iv. 15, 16. 

The apostle James, speaking of the erring Chris- 
tian, does not say, If any preacher of the gospel 
convert him, but, If any of you convert him, he 
shall save a soul from death* 

I will say something, 

I. Of the method by which ordinary Christians 
may convert a sinner from the error of his ways. 

II. Of the great benefit of converting a sinner 
from these errors. 

I. Of the method by which ordinary Christians 
may convert a sinner from the error of his ways. 

1. Ordinary Christians may have some influence 
in rectifying the erroneous opinions of those who 
depart from the truth. Yet they ought to behave 
wisely in their attempts to reclaim men from errors, 
lest they harden those whom they wish to reclaim. 
Many of those who err from the truth are very full 
of self-conceit. Some of them are possessed of abi- 
lities superior to many serious Christians. If a good 
man should enter into a debate with such persons, 
he may find his talents unequal to his zeal, and thm 
his good will be evil spoken of. 



THE CONVERSION OP OUR NEIGHBOURS. S£9 

Those who depart from the truth generally profes- 
sed in their neighbourhood, sensible that they are ex- 
posing themselves to opposition, will take care to be 
provided with as plausible- reasonings as they can 
invent or collect for self-defence, and may thus puzzle 
and confound a plain Christian, who perhaps could 
scarcely suspect that any thing, with the slightest ap- 
pearance of reason, could be produced against those 
truths which he found plainly taught in the lively ora- 
cles. 

Others who depart from the truth, make up in loqua- 
city what they want in sense. Although they can say 
little in their own defence that has any appearance of 
argument, they can pour out a torrent of words, and 
put to silence those who are much their superiors in 
sense as well as piety. 

A Christian of ordinary endowments will, for the 
most part, act wisely in avoiding religious disputes with 
men of superior abilities, or with men who have an 
high opinion of themselves, and who take more plea- 
sure in victory than truth. Paul teaches us to mark 
them who cause divisions and offences contrary to the 
doctrines which we have learned, and to avoid them. 
He requires those who minister in holy things, to fur- 
nish themselves w 1th a sufficient degree of knowledge, . 
to be able, by sound doctrine, to convince gainsayers. 
Other members of the church may possess good abili- 
ties, and they ought to use them for the advantage of 
others, especially of the members of the same body. 
But the great inequality of natural and acquired en- 
dowments amongst the members of the church, makes 
it evident that the great Dispenser of gifts has design* 
ed them for different services, 



370 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

Let it not however be supposed, that Christians of 
the meanest class in abilities are not bound to contend 
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints* 
We all ought, with one spirit and with one mind, to 
strive for the faith of the gospel, and to oppose new 
and strange doctrines, which tend to the subversion 
of souls. 

You must not, under pretence of inability to defend 
the truth, betray it, by holding your peace when it is 
opposed or ridiculed* The truths of chief importance 
to the souls of men are so plainly taught in Scripture, 
that every serious Christian may be easily furnished 
"with an answer to those who oppose them. Although 
you ought not to run about the country to question men 
about their faith, and to rectify their mistakes, you are 
bound to give a reason of the hope that is in you with 
meekness and fear, 1 Pet. iii. 15. 

You cannot perhaps answer one of many objections 
that men of corrupt minds may suggest, to discredit 
. the truth. But this is not always necessary. Plausi- 
ble arguments may be advanced to shew that men are 
to expect salvation only, or in part, through their own 
works ; but one or two plain texts of Scripture are 
sufficient to set aside a thousand of such arguments. 
If your opponent should ever produce arguments pre- 
tended to be taken from the Scripture itself, you can 
tell him that spiritual things are to be compared with 
spiritual, and that the law, whatever be the design of 
the giving of it, cannot be against the promises of God. 

If any of your acquaintances have turned aside 
from the truth, it is your duty to seek opportunities 
for convincing them of their mistake. Although 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 371 

they should be equal, or even superior to you in abi- 
lities, you are not, on that account, to despair of suc- 
cess, unless they are scorners who cannot find the 
truth, even when they seekjt, or pretend to seek it, 
because their pride hath blinded their eyes. Those 
who have truth on their side, especially those truths 
which are most clearly taught in the Bible, have 
this great advantage, that the goodness of their 
cause furnishes them with clear and strong argu- 
ments. The arguments by which error is support- 
ed, are found, on impartial discussion, to want soli- 
dity and force. A weak Christian, with the armour 
of righteousness on his right hand and left, may bring 
to the ground a gigantic adversary armed only with 
straw or rotten wood. 

It is reported by an ancient historian, that when 
at a famous assembly of the doctors of the church, 
some self-conceited philosophers had put to silence 
the learned divines, by sophistical arguments against 
the truth, an old man, of no learning, rose up, and, 
repeating the most important articles of Christian 
•doctriae in plain language, asked whether they as- 
sented to them or not. Their reply was, that when 
arguments of another kind were used against them, 
would repel reasonings by reasonings ; but 
that they had nothing to oppose to the plain decla- 
rations of Scripture, and were compelled to yield to 
the truth. 

2. If a man errs from the truth in his practice, 
successful endeavours may be used to turn him from 
the error of his ways. 

Here, too, caution is requisite. When we hear 



372 ON THE MEANS T© BE USED FOR 

that a man behaves ill, we are not authorized to go 
immediately and call him to account for his conduct, 
lest we give him reason to say, on better grounds 
than the contentious Israelite to Moses, " Man, who 
made thee a judge over me?' 5 Many reports are 
falsehoods, many are misrepresentations. If we 
believe them without examining whether they are 
true, we ourselves err from the truth. We are 
chargeable with a fault, perhaps, as bad as that 
which we impute to our neighbours. What answer 
will we be able to give him if he should say to us, 
* Physician, heal thyself. Pluck the beam out of 
thine own eye, before thou pretend to pluck the mote 
out of thy brother's eye. 9 

There are, however, many whose behaviour is so 
well known to be such as does not become the gos- 
pel of Christ, that it would be a ridiculous affecta- 
tion of charity to entertain a favourable opinion of 
them. How shall we behave towards such persons ? 
That we ought to mourn for them is plain. Paul 
could not write to the Philippians, without blotting 
his paper with tears, for those men that were ene- s 
mies to the cross of Christ, whose end was destruc- 
tion, whose God was their belly, whose glory was 
their shame, who minded earthly things. It is no 
less plain that' they are entitled to the benefit of our 
prayers. If we are to pray for the sick, that they 
may be preserved from death, ought we not to pray 
for sinners, that they may be redeemed from their in- 
iquities, which threaten them with the second death ? 

We ought to bear testimony, by our own beha- 
viour, Against their conduct, by the diligent prac- 



THE CONVERSION OP OUR NEIGHBORS. 173 

lice of those virtues which they neglect, and by 
keeping at the utmost distance from those evils which 
they practise. If (hey are habitual swearers, let us 
be careful to shew an habitual veneration for the 
holy name of God. If they are drunkards, 4et us 
be on our guard against the snares of intemperance. 
The children of light must have no fellowship with 
the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove 
them. " They that forsake the law praise the 
wicked, but they that fear the law contend with 
them. 5 ' 

But these observations are not sufficient to ex« 
plain the apostle's meaning, when he speaks of the 
conversion of a sinner by one of his brethren. All 
true Christians will mourn, will pray for offenders, 
will testify against them by their practice, and may 
by those means have some influence in turning them 
from the error of their ways. God may hear their 
prayer for their unhappy neighbours. Sinners may 
be ashamed when they see how much their conduct 
is abhorred, and may, by Divine mercy, be made 
sensible how much happier than themselves those 
persons are who fear God, and preserve their cha- 
racters and comforts, by keeping the paths of up* 
lightness. But there are other means likewise that 
may be used with a happy effect by those w r ho are 
qualified to use them, or who enjoy favourable op- 
portunities to deal with them. 

1 . Instruction may be given them fitted to rouse 
their attention to their danger. 

It is common with sinners to think that they shall 
have peace in the end. Some of them are insensi* 

H h 



374 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

ble of the evil of their own conduct; others of 
them think, that however bad their conduct is, they 
have much time before them to repent, and then all 
the evil consequences of their conduct will be pre- 
vented. 

When you see your friends or your neighbours 
trusting to this dreadful uncertainty, put them in 
mind that our days on earth are but a shadow, that 
to confide in the continuance of our life for another 
■day, is to act far more foolishly than he who would 
build his house upon the sand. Remind them, that 
nothing is less to be trusted than men's own hearts, 
especially when their promises are at variance with 
their inclinations. Why do men defer their repen- 
tance ? Because repentance is unpleasant to them. 
How then can their promises of repentance deserve 
more credit than those of a highwayman to restore 
your purse ? 

The grace of God affords many a pretence to 
liold fast their sins, and refuse to let them go. Re- 
mind your erring friends, that there is justice with 
God as well as grace - ; that justice is a terrible aven- 
ger of the indignities done to the grace of God ; and 
that there is not a surer indication of malignity and 
obstinacy in sin, than to turn the grace of God into 
licentiousness. 

Many think that all are sinners like themselves, 
and that the best men in the world cannot be ex- 
empted from the common reproach. Tell them that 
he that is born of God cannot commit sin, and that 
there is a difference as real between the behaviour 
-Qf a saint and a sinner, as between that of the profli- 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 373 

gate spendthrift and the virtuous citizen, between the 
harlot and the respectable matron. God's children 
have all of them their spots. But sinners have spots 
that are not the spots of hk children. 

Thus, in your occasional converse with your erring 
friends, you should take every opportunity that pre- 
sent? itself of suggesting and inculcating those truths 
that are most likely to pierce into their minds, and to 
make them sensible of the danger of their conduct* 
Such truths may meet their eyes in the Bible, or their 
ears in the public preaching of the word, but pass un- 
observed in the multitude of other doctrines that leave 
no impression. You may, by setting them before their 
view in the way most likely to impress them, be made 
the instrument of a salutary conviction. 

When the prophet Nathan desired to make David 
sensible of his crimes against Uriah, he represented 
them in the form of a parable, in which he placed be- 
fore his eyes an image of his own conduct. The same 
end may be gained, by putting our sinning friends in 
mind of those passages of Scripture-history in which 
they may see the unhappy effects of their own vices. 
Speak of the leprosy of Gehazi to the covetous man ; 
of the fire of Sodom and Gomorrah to the lewd; of 
the man that was stoned for gathering sticks on the 
Sabbath to the profancrs of the day of the Lord ; of 
the fate of Ananias and Sappbira to the liar ; of Lot's 
incest to the drunkard ■; of the miserable end of Herod 
Agrippa to the proud ; of the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem to the despisers of Christ and the gospel ; of the 
blindness of Elymas, the sorcerer, to the opposers of 
the truth t. of the destruction of Aaron's two oldest 



376 6N THE MEANS T© BE USE© FOR 

son's to the rash profaners of divine institutions ; of 
the death of the Jewish prophet, sent to Jerofooam, to 
the men who can confidently venture upon sins that 
they may think excusable* Thus you may raise a 
sense of guilt and danger in their consciences, with- 
out finding it necessary- to say, as Nathan did to David, 
u Thou art the man. 55 Their own consciences may 
supply your lack of service. This indirect mode of 
reproof, will, on many occasions, be more useful than 
that kind of reproof which is undisguised, and which 
too often irritates those whom it was intended to re- 
form. We ought to consider the temper of our neigh- 
bours, to perform to them offices of love* Those who 
will not bear reproof from others, may be made their 
own reprovers* If you can find means to engage their 
own consciences to become preachers of repentance, 
they will not so easily free themselves from these mo- 
nitors as Herod freed himself from the reproofs of John 
Baptist, Conscience may be held a prisoner, and 
yet speak in a voice of thunder. 

2. Direct reproof ought to be administered, when 
that milder reproof which is conveyed in the form of 
instruction is without effect*. There are some indeed 
whom it is vain to reprove, because they are scor- 
ners ; and " he that reproveth a scorner, only getteth 
to himself a blot. 55 The scorner heareth not rebuke, 
and must be left to God, who will take his own time to 
speak to him in language which must be heard. But 
when there is any probability that we may do good by 
rebuke, it is a painful but a necessary work of charity 
to make the attempt. " Thou shah not hate thy bro- 
ther in thine heart, 55 says the Scripture, " thou shall 



THE^ CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS* S77 

in any wise rebuke thy brother, and not suffer sin upon 
feim." He will feel great pain, but pain must often be 
felt for the preservation of life, or for the preservation 
of the soul. He may be angry ; but when his passion 
has subsided, he will see that he has reason to be an- 
gry only w^ith himself. 

We ought indeed to give him no cause to be angry. 
We must beware of rudeness, even in reproving sin. 
A bitter pill ought to be sweetened with love. Some 
deserve reproof for the reproofs they give. They sin 
in reproving sin, because they follow not the apostolic 
rule of rebuking their offending brother " in the spi- 
rit of meekness, considering themselves lest they also 
be tempted/' Much caution is necessary in a repro- 
ver, that he may not, by too much gentleness, render 
his reproofs useless, or, by too much severity, make 
them more than useless* 

Paul will teach you by his example how sin ought 
to be reproved. He does not spare the offenders, 
nor conceal any thing proper for impressing their 
hearts with a deep sense of their guilt ; and yet he 
addresses them in such a way, as to convince them 
that love dictated every word of his sharpest re* 
bukes. The effects of them were such as might have 
been expected. A happy reformation was effected 
by them in the church of Corinth, 2 Cor.vii. 8, — 
1 1 . He hoped in the Lord that his reproofs to the 
churches of Galatia would be attended with the same 
happy effects, and we have no reason to think that 
he was disappointed. " As an ear-ring of gold, and 
an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon 
an obedient ear.'* 

II h 2 



378 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOU 

3. Encouragements drawn from the gospel, are 
powerful means of conversion, to be used by private 
Christians as well as ministers. 

When men think that there is little hope of par- 
don or amendment, they are discouraged from using 
the appointed means of grace. They will not come 
with much earnestness, and still less With bo!dne-ss ? 
to the throne of grace for mercy and grace, if they 
imagine that there is no grace nor succour with God 
for them. It is therefore highly proper to put them 
in mind of the immensity of the divine goodness^ 
and of the wonderful discoveries he hath given of 
his grace in the doctrines and promises of his word ? 
and in the manifold salvations he hath wrought in the 
earth. 

Sinners often doubt whether mercy can be exten- 
ded to themselves, on this ground, that they find 
themselves unsteady in their efforts for reformation. 
One day they will relapse into their former follies^ 
and thus forfeit all those favours which may be rea- 
sonably expected by those who are stedfast in God's 
covenant. But remind your erring friends, that they 
must expect sanctificationas well as pardon from the 
grace of God. The same God who is gracious to 
pardon our iniquities, is mighty to subdue them, and 
hath authorized us to depend on his blessed Son as 
our sanctification as well as our righteousness. 

Sinners are afraid to turn into the ways of right- 
eousness, lest they should find them unpleasant. It 
is difficult to persuade them, that delights and joys 
are to be found in the ways of God, infinitely supe- 
rior to those pleasures that may be found in the ways 



THE CONVERSION OP OUR NEIGHBOURS. 379 

of sin. Tell them of that grace of God which pas- 
seth all understanding 5 of those joys of the Spirit, 
which are the portion of God's people ; of those 
comforts of love, which mingle themselves with the 
most painful exercises of self-denial ; of those satis- 
factions that are found attached to the performance 
of duty. Assure them, that sinners are their own 
greatest enemies, and that the self-denial with wilich 
the devil inspires his followers, is pernicious ; but 
the self-denial which Christ requires, is no less ne- 
cessary, and beneficial, and pleasant in its conse- 
quences, than the restraints which the physician im- 
poses on his patient, or those which an affectionate 
father imposes on his beloved children. 

If you talk of nothing but hell-fire to sinners, you 
may affright them, and perhaps persuade them for 
the present to restrain themselves from some ot their 
gratifications of lust ; but whilst they are unacquain- 
ted with the pleasures of religion, the power of their 
corruptions, though repressed, will not be weakened. 
Perhaps they may be strengthened to such a degree 
as to break down all the barriers of conscience. 
Who can cheerfully engage in any business without 
hope of success and advantage ? Or, if a man under 
the pressure of necessity engage in any hopeless en- 
terprise, he w T ill soon desist. However necessary- 
religion may be apprehended to be, if there is no ex- 
pectation of acceptance with God, or success in hi* 
service, it is natural for men to say, " There is no 
hope, for we have loved strangers, and after them 
will we~ go." But hope animates the soul to run in 
the way of God's commandments. We see good en- 



380 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

couragement to be stedfast, immoveable, always 
abounding in the work of the Lord, when we are as- 
sured that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. 

4. Earnest exhortations may, on many occasions, 
be useful for the conversion of sinners. If Christians 
are to exhort one another daily whilst it is called 
to-day, why should w r e not exhort our wicked neigh* 
bours to have compassion on their own souls ? They 
are rational creatures. They are desirous of their 
own happiness. Who knows what efficacy God may 
give to those motives by w r hich we urge them to turn 
to the Lord? 

Why should you allege the unconquerable power 
of their lusts, and the inefficacy of a thousand ex- 
hortations that have been already addressed to them ? 
Scripture is full, from beginning to end, of warn*- 
ings and exhortations to sinners. Are all those di- 
vinely gracious addresses of God. to men useless ? 
Certainly sinners cannot, by their best exertions, 
turn themselves to the Lord. But when the Lord 
turns them to himself, he deals with them as with 
rational creatures. He enlightens their minds by 
the doctrines, and powerfully persuades their hearts 
by the arguments of his word. 

There are arguments of very different kinds used 
in the word of God, to persuade men. We can 
never be at a loss for powerful means of persuasion, 
if we are not utterly ignorant of the Scriptures. It 
teaches us to reason with sinners, from the awful 
and amiable excellencies of that God with whom 
we have to do ; from the grace and blood of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ; from the terrors of the last 



THE CGKVERSTON OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 381 

judgment and of the infernal regions ; from the fn> 
effable joys of heaven, the first fruits of which may 
be tasted on this earth ; from the vanity of the 
world ; from the uncertainty and brevity of life ; 
from the mercies and judgments of the Lord. How 
strangely corrupted must their hearts be, on which 
motives of such magnitude have no influence ! 

We must not think that any of the motives to re- 
pentance which the Scripture uses, are useless, al- 
though they are of very unequal importance. The 
weaker motives may prevail when stronger ones have 
no force, arid these motives which want power to make 
a person truly religions, may be of use to restrain the 
rage of sin 5 and to excite persons to the use of those 
means of religion which may brifig them under the 
power of the weightier motives to religion. Solomon 
often makes use of motives to the fear of God, taken 
from the consideration of our present welfare in body 
2nd fortune, as well as in our souls. A man can never 
be truly religious, who has nothing higher in view 
than a regard to his own estate, oy reputation, or life. 
But he well knew that there are multitudes who will 
be moved by such considerations, whilst they have lit- 
tle regard to the welfare of their souls, and still less 
to the glory or the love of God, And he knew like- 
wise, that men might be drawn by a regard to their 
own present interest, to think of those truths that 
might inspire them with better views and purer de- 
sires. 

Following the example of the inspired writers, urge 

. your friends to forsake their sins by those arguments 

that are most likely to make an impression upon their 



382 ON THE MEAKS TO BE USED FOR 

souls. Daniel urged Nebuchadnezzar to break offhis 
sins by repentance, if so be it might be a lengthening 
of his tranquillity. The lengthening of his tranquillity 
was nothing to i4 the powers of the world to come," 
But Nebuchadnezzar would probably have laughed at 
the mention of a future state, such as the Scripture 
reveals, although he would be unwilling to have the 
tranquillity and splendour of his present condition ex- 
changed for the life of an ox. 

When you find that your friends put off the thoughts 
o,f the future world to a future period of their lives, 
they may dread the loss of character, of health, of 
employment in their business. If you can, by such 
considerations, persuade them to think seriously of 
their conduct, ether considerations may find admit- 
tance. They will read the Bible, they will go to the 
sanctuary.. They will read and hear of infinitely 
greater evils, in their sins, than those which formerly 
employed their thoughts. They will hear and read of 
the wonderful price of our salvation, and of the love of 
Christ which passeth knowledge ; and who knows 
what powerful effects these- truths may have on hearts 
that formerly were unconcerned about any thing that 
did not gratify their earthly minds ? " The entrance 
of God's word giveth light, it giveth understanding 
unto the simple." 

5. Practical testimonies of dissatisfaction with the 
conduct of sinners, may contribute to their conver- 
sion. 

Our Lord tells you, that ifyou cannot gain a broth- 
er who has offended you, by your own remonstrances, 
you ought to take two or three others with you. If he 



THE C0NVER3I8N OF OUK NEIGHBOURS. 383 

wili not hear them, you are to tell the affair to the 
church ; and, if he will not hear the church, he is to 
be reputed as a heathen man and a publican. Thus 
you may effect, by the help-of brethren, or by the or- 
dinances of the church, what you cannot accomplish 
by your own exertions. The church will never pros- 
per whilst the discipline plainly prescribed by the 
Head of the church is neglected, 

" If any man that is called a brother," says Paul 5 
*5 be a fornicator, or idolater, or drunkard, or a revi* 
ler, or an extortioner, you must not eat with him." — 
For what reason ? That he may be ashamed of his 
conduct. He knows that hell is the place prepared 
for such enemies of the cross of Christ, and yet per- 
sists in the broad way that leads to destruction. Is it 
then to be expected that shame will operate upon 
him ? Perhaps it may. The shame to which he finds 
himself subjected may check his career, and lead him 
to think of the present and eternal misery which he is 
bringing upon himself. Some sinners think, that 
although they are at this time travelling to destruction, 
they will stop short before they arrive at the end of 
their journey, and then all the mischiefs with which 
they are threatened will be prevented. But when 
they find that they must suffer painful consequences 
for the present from their godless courses, they will 
acknowledge that the cost of sinning must 3 in every 
point of view, exceed the pleasures or the profit. 

In a like direction of the apostle to the Thessalonian 
believers, he suggests a very needful advice about 
the treatment of brethren from whom we must with- 
draw* We are not to treat all those persons as hea* 



SS4 ON THE MEANS TO BE USE© FOB, 

then men and publicans, who cannot be presently re- 
claimed from the error of their ways. " If any man 
obey not our word by (his epistle, note that man, and 
have no fellowship with him, that he may be ashamed. 
Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as 
a brother. 55 Let us learn to discover the most unre- 
lenting hatred to all sin, and at the same time fervent 
sharity to sinners. 

Whilst we use all proper means for reclaiming sin- 
ners, we must not trust to them. Alas ! the power of 
sin is far superior to the power of men. Have we 
not too often felt the power of sin in ourselves to be 
unconquerable, but by divine strength ? With all oth- 
er means for reforming our brethren, let us join fervent 
prayer for their success. Paul, with all his depth of 
knowledge, and ApolIos 5 with all his fervent elo- 
quence, were nothing, and could do nothing without 
God. Do we imagine that our powers of persuasion 
are sufficient to turn sinners from the error of their 
ways unto the Lord ? We may as well hope, by the 
powers of persuasion, to raise the dead from their 
graves, that they may enjoy the pleasures, and do the 
works of life. 

If you desire to be happily instrumental in turning 
sinners from the error of their ways, it is likewise ne- 
cessary for you to walk circumspectly* A few blem- 
ishes, or one great blemish in your conduct, will 
deeply affect your usefulness, Eccl. x. 1. Matt. v. 16. 

It is plain that some of those means of reforming of- 
fenders, which have been specified, cannot with pro- 
priety, or hope of success, be employed by every per- 
son who is grieved to see the evils that abound around 



THE CONVERSION OP ©UR NEIGHBOURS. 385 

kirn. We do not enjoy opportunities of social con- 
verse with every sinner in the country side. Should 
we reprove those who are scarcely known to us by 
face, we are more likely ^to make our good be evil 
spoken of, than to reclaim them. We do not find that 
Paul, (whose zeal was ever burning like a tire, but 
was directed by prudence,) ever went to the palace of 
Nero, or to the palaces of the ministers of his wick- 
edness, to reprove them. He seized opportunities, 
which God gave him, for the conversion of sinners ; 
but he did not cast his pearls before swine. 

Yet, as a fervent zeal ought to burn in all our hearts, 
we ought net to think that we are blameless, if we do 
not, what all may do, to promote the conversion of 
sinners* We are soldiers called to fight against the 
devil and his followers, under the banners of the Cap- 
tain of salvation. 

With this view, we ought to hold forth the word of 
life by a public profession of the truth. Many, it is to 
be feared, will shut their eyes against the light shining 
around them, but others will be induced to walk in the 
light of the Lord. The light of truth makes the evil 
of sin manifest to the consciences of men. When the 
-truth of the gospel is exhibited by a public profes- 
sion, the hatefulness of many vices practised among 
the heathen is acknowledged and felt, even by those 
who receive not the love of the truth that they may be 
saved, and the entrance of it will give understanding 
to those whose hearts God is pleased to open, that 
they may attend to their own present and eternal 
welfare. 

We ought likewise to strive against sin, by shewing 
Ii 



386 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

our abhorrence of it in our practice. In our public 
profession of the truth of the Scripture, we ought to 
bear testimony against opposite errors, especially 
against those which are most prevalent in our own 
age. In our practice, we ought to manifest our aver- 
sion to those sins that are most common, especially 
when their malignity or their dangerous consequences 
are generally overlooked. When luxury is the reign- 
ing evil, we ought to practise the strictest temperance. 

When drunkenness is the prevailing iniquity, we 
must not look upon the wine when it is red. When 
fornication or adultery are shamelessly practised by 
the fashionable part of mankind, they must not be 
once named amongst saints ; and every thing ought 
carefully to be avoided, which may lead us by insen- 
sible degrees to such enormities, or which may lesson 
our detestation of vices so displeasing to God, and so 
pernicious to men. 

We likewise contribute to the reclaiming of sin- 
ners, by concurring in the support of those public 
means of instruction which God hath appointed for 
the conversion of sinners, and in every seasonable and 
needful testimony against prevailing evils. When 
sins and errors abound, let us make it apparent that 
we are on the Lord's side. The followers of the Lamb 
must not be ashamed of him, or of his words, at any 
time, and least of all when the generation with which 
they live is adulterous and sinful. " Come out from 
amongst them, says the Lord, and be ye separate ; 
touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.' 5 

We ought, finally, to be fellow-helpers to the truth, 
by strengthening the hands of those who are set for 



THE CONVERSION" OF OtfB PTEIGHBOtfRS. 387 

the defence of the gospel, and whose office requires 
them to reprove, rebuke and admonish sinners. The 
Corinthian Christians, in the days of Paul, were high- 
ly blameable because they did net support his charac- 
ter against his enemies. He found it absolutely ne- 
cessary to speak like a fool, in commending himself, 
because they did not commend him, nor vindicate him 
from the aspersions of the false apostles. 

The believers at Corinth deserved much blame on 
another account. Church discipline was neglected 
amongst them. This was not merely the fault of the 
rulers of the church. All the members of it ought to 
have testified their zeal, by urging those rulers to do 
their duty, and by concurring with them in executing 
the prescribed discipline, 1 Cor. v. Those who are 
appointed to bear rule in the church, must judge and 
pronounce sentence. But they often need excitation 
from the people to their duty, and ought to have their 
countenance and help in the performance of it ; for 
Christians are under indispensable obligations to 
strive together for the faith of the gospel and the pu- 
rity of the church. 

We cannot calculate the happy effects that may re- 
sult from our combined endeavours to support the 
cause of truth, and to oppose sin. It will be known at 
the last clay how much sinners have contributed to 
extend the devil's influence in the world, and how 
much saints have contributed, or used faithful endeav- 
ours to contribute, to the overthrow of the devil's 
kingdom. This at present we know, that if any 
among us do err from the truth, and one convert him, 
he hath saved a soul from death, and hides a multi- 
tude of sins. 



©N TKB XEAHS TO &E USED FO& 



DISCOURSE II. 

II. We are now to c6nsider the motives used By 
the apostle for exciting us to labour in the conversion 
of those that err from the truth : " Let him know, that 
he which converteth the sinner from the error of his 
way ? shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a 
multitude of sins." 

We are first taught in these w r ords, that death is the 
fruit of sin, and will be the portion of such as turn 
aside after crooked ways. " He that erreth from the 
way of understanding," says Solomon, " shall remain 
in the congregation of the dead." Solomon knew 
that good, as well as bad men, die out of this world* 
It must therefore be a kind of death peculiar to the 
wicked of which he speaks. Wicked men are alrcadj 
dead in trespasses and sins, and they are waited for 
of the lake of fire and brimstone, w T hich is the second 
death., 

Did we see any of our friends living on poisoned 
dainties, would not our bowels be turned within us at 
the sight of such pernicious folly ? Would we not in- 
treat them with tears to have pity on themselves ? 
Why then do we feel so little pity for souls perishing 
by the deceitfulness of sin ? Do we really believe 
that sin is so fatal in its consequences as the Scripture 
represents it to be ? If we do not, where is our faith ? 
If we do, where are the fruits of our faith ? 

2. Salvation from this death is attainable. In this 
the condition of wicked men differs from that of fal- 
len angels ; that " God hath so loved the world, as to 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS, 389 

give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.* 1 
We ought not therefore to despair of the salvation of 
the worst of oar neighbours. Although they may 
carry the devil's mark on their forehead, we do not 
certainly know that their names are not written in the 
Lamb 1 s book of life. Certain it is, that they are cal- 
led by the gospel to partake of the salvation of Christ. 
God stretches out his hand all day long to the diso- 
bedient and gainsaying. Shall we think it too great 
a trouble for ourselves, or too great an extension of 
charity, to be followers of God ? 

3. Our exertions, if they have the desired effect on 
the salvation of our neighbours, will be profitable be- 
yond all our conception. 

" He shall save a soul from death." How glorious 
were Paul and Peter in the eyes of men, when one of 
them raised up Dorcas, and the other Eutychus, from 
death. But they were far more glorious in the eyes 
of the wise; and of God himself, when they were the 
happy instruments of raising up those who were dead 
in sins, to a life of holiness. The work indeed was 
God's : for who but God can raise the dead ? Yet he 
put honour and glory inexpressible upon his faithful 
servants who preached those truths by which men 
were saved. " Although ye have many teachers," 
says Paul, " yet have ye not many fathers, for in Je- 
sus Christ have I begotten you through the gospel." 
1 would far rather have been able to speak such bold 
words, than to call myself the Lord of an hundred na- 
tions. Far rather would I be the spiritual father of 
one precious soul, than possess all the riches of Solo» 
uion or Croesus. 

Ii2 



380 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOB. 

There are many that spend their whole lives in 
heaping up. wealth, although, they know not who shall 
possess these acquisitions after them, and whether 
they shall be wise men or fools, whether they shall be 
the better or the worse for what is left to them. But 
" the fruit of the righteous is. a tree of life, and he that 
winixeth souls is wise." What account shall be made 
in the great day of all our painful acquisitions of earth- 
ly treasure ? But a single drop of cold water given 
to a disciple in the name of a disciple, shall in no 
wise lose its reward. What then will be the happi- 
ness, in that awful day,, ef those who have not only 
walked in the way of life, but likewise induced their 
fellow-sinners to leave the paths of destruction ! 

u He shall save a soul from death,' 7 — from a death 
ten thousand times more dreadful than all the deaths 
or miseries that can be sustained in this world. What 
are seventy years to eternity ? What are the pains 
that accompany the death of the body, to those eter- 
nal burnings which the breath of the Lord, like a 
stream of brimstone, doth kindle ? 

He shall save not only the body, but the soul from 
death* The whole person is often meant by the soul, 
•and the body, as well as the soul, is a partaker of the 
blessings of salvation. What fools are those men whn 
prefer their bodies to their souls ? What will become 
of their bodies in the day when their souls leave them, 
and in the day when their souls are re-united to them ? 
If you love your bodies, let your chief attention be 
bestowed upon your souls. If you love your friends, 
let your love be directed especially to their souls, with 
which their bodies must participate in endless joy or 
woe. 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 391 

When a soul is saved from death, it partakes of a 
new and an everlasting life. And what can be more 
delightful to us than the hope of seeing our friends 
with ourselves in heaven, especially those friends to 
whose salvation we have been happily instrumental ? 
Paul often thought, with transport, of those who were 
to be his joy and crown in the day of the Lord Jesus 
Christ ; and he could have even wished himself ac- 
cursed from Christ for the sake of his unbelieving kins- 
men, that they might partake of the blessedness of 
being with Christ. We cannot hope to equal Paul in 
the number of his converts ; but if we have a few. or 
but one, for a joy and crown of rejoicing in the day of 
the Lord, we will not envy his superior glory. 

That perfect love which reigns on high will make 
the happiness of the blessed the happiness of every 
one. If we love our neighbours as ourselves, their 
happiness is ours. Yet we may reasonably conclude., 
that those who have turned others to righteousness 
will, above all their companions, enjoy that happi- 
ness which is the fruit, under the divine blessing, of 
their own prayers and labours. 

If such is the advantage of converting a sinner from 
the error of his ways, what excuse can we make for 
ourselves, if we neglect any of those means that may 
be conducive to an end so infinitely important to our- 
selves, and to those whom we are bound to love as 
ourselves 2 The merchant cannot easily forgive him- 
self, if he neglect the opportunity of gain which might 
enrich himself for life, and his family after him. But 
what is the gaining of all the world to the gaining of 
one soul ? Christ knew the value of souls. He died 



392 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

not as a fool dieth. If a skilful jeweller should give 
his whole fortune for one diamond, you would not sure- 
ly think that it is of small value. What must be the 
value of those souls for which Christ gave not all the 
substance of his house, not the heaven and the earth, 
although the heaven and the earth are his, but his own 
precious blood ! We forget the price of our redemp- 
tion, we pour contempt upon him who loved us, and 
washed us from our sins in his ow T n blood, when we 
are not animated with a strong desire to promote the 
salvation of souls. 

" He shall save a soul from death, and shall hide 
a multitude of sins." What is the meaning of these 
last words ? Who can forgive sins, but God only? 
or what could procure the remission of sins but the 
blood of Christ ? We must not, therefore, proudly 
imagine that we can procure the remission either of 
our own sins, or of the sins of our fellow-transgres- 
sors, by any thing that we can do. If we had sa- 
ved as many souls as Paul, and died as many deaths 
for Christ, and laboured more abundantly than all 
the apostles, neither our labours, nor our sufferings, 
nor the grateful prayers of our converts, could cover 
one of our transgressions from the view of our Judge, 
or entitle us to his favour. After all that Paul did 
and suffered for Christ, and for the souls of men, he 
expected his own salvation purely from the exceed- 
ing riches of the grace of God, through the redemp- 
tion that is in Christ Jesus. . 

But a man may be said to hide sins in the same 
sense wherein he may be said to save souls from death, 
for there is an inseparable connection between the par- 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR KEIGHBOURS- 393 

don of sins, by which they are hidden from the face 
of God as an avenging judge, and the salvation of the 
soul from death. If the least sin remains marked by 
God, it must prove fatal to the sinner. One sin brought 
eternal misery upon the angels that fell. One sin 
of one man brought judgment to condemnation upon 
the whole race of Adam. " Blessed is the man whose 
iniquity is forgiven, and whose sin is covered." Cur* 
&ed is the man whose iniquity is not forgiven, nor his 
sin covered. He is under a sentence of death, and 
the wrath of God abideth on him. 

He that turns a sinner from the error of his ways, 
turns him to God through faith in Christ Jesus, and 
by faith we receive the remission of sins, Acts xiii. 
38, 39. If we take this view of the meaning of the 
passage, we find a similar expression, Dan. xii. 3. 
" They that turn many to righteousness," or, as the 
expression may be rendered more literally, they that 
make many righteous, or they that justify many. It 
is the glorious prerogative of the God of all grace to 
justify the ungodly. But those ministers or Christians 
by whom men believe, are blessed instruments in their 
justification. 

What powerful motives are contained in those 
words, to enforce the duty of labouring for the con- 
version of our neighbours who have wandered out of 
the way of understanding ! 

They are still in their sins, and consequently under 
the curse of God, the dominion of Satan, and the pow- 
er of their lusts. Alas ! how pitiable is this condition ! 
How much worse is our sin than all the fevers, con- 
sumptions, racks, and instruments of destruction, that 



394 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

were ever seen or felt by men! The whole creation 
groans and travels together in pain, under the weight 
of that sin which brought death into the world. 
When men are wandering in the way of destruction, 
they lie under the guilt not of one sin only, but of 
many iniquities. We are but very young sinners if 
we have not reason to say, "Our iniquities are more 
than the hairs of our head. 5 ' If by one offence judg- 
ment came upon all men to condemnation, what is the 
condition of those who are chargeable with ten thou- 
sand provocations, many of them dreadfully aggrava- 
ted, all of them binding faster those chains of the 
curse by which the guilty are reserved to the day of 
wrath, and perdition of ungodly men ? 

Now, every one who believes in Jesus is complete- 
ly freed from all transgressions, However numerous, 
and however aggravated they have been, there is no 
more condemnation to him. God cannot be just with- 
out justifying the sinner that believes in Jesus, and he 
whom God blesses with this glorious privilege, is for 
ever delivered from his Judge. It is God, the Judge 
of all, that justifies him ; who is he that condemns him ? 
Happy is the man who turns the eyes of his fellow- 
sinners to that Saviour, through whom all his sins are 
forgiven, all his diseases healed, and his soul, former- 
ly loaded with many curses, is redeemed from going 
down to destruction. 

The following directions may be useful to those 
who wish to reclaim their neighbours from sin. 

1. Be careful of your own personal religion. Some 
seamen, in their friendly endeavours to save their 
ship wrecked fellow-mortals, have by rash, though 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR XIIGHB3URS. 395 

well meant exertions, lost their own lives. When 
you associate with sinners, that you may have the op- 
portunity of using fit means for their conversion, be- 
ware lest they should find means of drawing you into 
the same errors or crimes with themselves ; for " a 
companion of fools shall be destroyed. 5 ' If you are 
not sometimes in the company of your erring acquain- 
tances, you cannot reprove or exhort them. But they 
must not be your ordinary or chosen companions. 
The physician visits the sick that he may heal them. 
He does not lire or sleep with them, for then they 
might communicate to him their distempers. 

Those are. of all others, most likely to do good to 
their neighbours, who keep themselves most unspot- 
ted from the world. Their life is a constant testimo- 
ny against the wicked. Peter exhorts Christians to 
have their conversation honest among the Gentiles, 
that whereas they spoke against them as evil doers, 
they might, by their good works which they should 
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. The 
holy life of John had as much effect upon Herod, as 
the awful eloquence of his discourses. 

You must not however think, that if you are left by- 
God to fall into a sin which brings dishonour on your 
name, you can be of no more use to your fellow-men. 
If you do not give proper evidence of repentance, 
you cannot expect that your admonitions or reproofs 
to other sinners will have any other effect than to bring 
your own sin to remembrance. But if your repen- 
tance be as public, and as evident as your offence, 
you may -deal with sinners more effectually than ever. 
This was David's hope, when he was humbled before 



396 ON THE MEANS TO BE ffSED FOR 

the Lord for his transgression, that when God should 
blesshim with renewed instances of his loving kindness, 
he would teach transgressors God's ways, and sinners 
should be turned unto him. Paul had greatly sinned 
in his unconverted state, and was on every occasion 
ready to confess the enormity of his sins, and was en- 
abled, from his own experience to tell sinners what an 
evil and dangerous thing it was to be an enemy to the 
cross of Christ. 

2. Despair not of doing good to obstinate sinners. 
The servants of Christ know by experience, that there 
is an amazing power in those corrupt lusts which natu- 
rally reign in the hearts of men, and that divine grace 
can do wondrous things in recovering men from the 
snares of the devil. There w T ere many Jews that con- 
tinued obstinate unbelievers during the whole course 
of our Lord's ministry, although he spake as never 
man had spoken, and yet were converted by the min- 
istry of the apostles. Christ's people shall be wil- 
ling in the day of his power, and they will never be 
willing till the day of his power is come. The hus- 
bandman waits patiently for the precious fruits of the 
earth, and does not intermit his labour in the season 
of drought or of tempest. At last he hopes to reap, 
and we also shall reap the fruit of our labours if we 
faint not. If those souls should finally perish, for 
whom we have wept, and laboured, and prayed, our 
charity will not be lost. 

3. Let your charity and zeal be regulated by the 
word of God. 

It is to be lamented that many persons, not ene- 
mies to religion, should pay little regard in their 



THE CONVERSION OF OUg, NEIGHBOURS. 397 

practice to some of its rules. Charity is the soul of 
practical religion, and charity believeth all things, 
hopeth all things, endureth all things. How then 
comes it to pass, that many serious persons are so 
ready to form bad opinions of their neighbours ? 
They hear a bad story, and they believe it without 
farther inquiry, although they might know that half 
of the bad stories they hear are downright false- 
hoods, and that nine out of ten are misrepresenta- 
tions. And how comes it to pass, that some who 
are zealous against sin, turn their zeal itself into sin, 
by judging their brethren, who must stand or fall 
not to their fellow-servants, but to their own Mas- 
ter? 

Your neighbour is guilty of a fault. What then ? 
Is he a hypocrite because he is not unblemished ? 
Was the apostle Peter a false Christian, because oa 
a certain occasion at Antioch he walked not upright- 
ly, according to the truth of the gospel ? 

Job's three friends considered him as a bad man, 
and earnestly laboured for his conversion. They 
were wise and good men. They were honest in aa 
eminent degree, and could bear to wound their own. 
ienderest feelings, by speaking daggers to the heart 
of Job for his good. Yet they were greatly to be 
blamed, because they wanted that charity which 
will not form a bad opinion of one n s neighbour with- 
out sufficient evidence. Their reproofs and advices 
would have been excellent, if they had been addres- 
sed to such a man as they took Job to be ; but, ad- 
dressed to the man that Job was, they were poison 
infused into his wound, whilst they thought that they 

K k 



3d$ ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

were discovering their ardent zeal for God, and their 
honest friendship to Job. They spake not of God 
the thing that was right, and they brake the good 
man in pieces with their words. 

But whatever we may say with justice against the 
errors of these good men, they merit praise if you 
compare them with those cold-hearted friends, who 
would not wound the too delicate feelings of those 
whom they pretend to love, although it might save 
their souls from hell. Does that man love his 
child, who would not force a knife out of his hands 
lest he should sob and cry, although he knows not 
how soon he may use it to give himself a deadly 
wound? Charity suffers long, and is kind; yet it 
will not suffer sin in the beloved object. So God 
teaches us by Moses when he says, " Thou shalt 
not hate thy brother in thine heart ; thou shalt in any 
wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon 
him," Lev. six. 

Charity believeth all things, yet it rejoiceth in 
the truth, and will not believe manifest falsehoods, 
nor refuse its assent to unpleasant truths when they 
are too plain to be denied. You have very false 
notions of charity, when you think that it constrains 
you to think well, or to speak well of transgressors., 
whose sins are open before hand going to judgment. 
If you endeavour to palliate every transgression of 
which you hear, and to wash Ethiopians white, you 
employ your tongues to poison the morals of your 
hearers. You must not speak evil of your neigh- 
bours ; but you must neither justify nor excuse those 
that are known to be evil doers, as if their crimes 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 399 

were only faults, and their perseverance in an evil 
course consistent with the character of a Christian. 
Is a man known to be a tipler, a reviler, or a liar? 
talk not of his spots as if they could be the spots of 
God's children, for then you may embolden other 
men to lie, and drink to excess, and defame their 
brethren, by the notion you instil, that they may do 
all those things, and yet deserve the character of 
saints. 

It is not charity, but cruelty, to hide your eye* 
from those faults that are but too evident. Was there 
a more charitable man than Paul, who, in his epis- 
tles, administered sharp reproofs to his beloved 
children, when their conduct was blameable ? Jesus 
himself, whose love passeth knowledge, displayed it 
no less in the reproofs than in the comforts which he 
often gave to his disciples. 

When we have no certain evidence that our friends 
or neighbours are destitute of the grace of God, cha- 
rity will not only permit, but dispose us to be jealous 
over them with a godly jealousy* " I desire to be 
present with you now. and to change my voice.*' 
said Paul to the Galatians, "for I stand in doubt of 
you." Was he unkind to them, because he stood in 
doubt of them ? Was he their enemy, because he 
told them the truth ? No, he was their true friend. 
He was their affectionate father. They were his 
little children, with whom he travailed in birth again, 
till Christ was formed in them. 

Let all your things be done with charity. There 
are no duties which ought to have the character of 
charity more plainly imprinted upon them, than those 



400 ©N THE MEANS TO BE ESED FOR 

which may prove painful to the persons whose Be- 
nefit we seek in doing them ; and we ought to be 
careful that our charity be regulated by the example 
®f Christ and his holy apostles* 

4. Beware of those weaknesses which may ob- 
struct the success of your labours of love. 

Spiritual pride is not to be ranked with those weak- 
Messes which make our good to be evil spoken of. 
It is wickedness of the worst kind. But there are 
appearances of it which eught to be avoided, if we 
value our character and usefulness. You cannot but 
have observed with what wonderful cautioa Paul 
speaks of his own attainments, when he was under a 
necessity of mentioning them* Some people might 
have imagined that he was one of the proudest men 
alive, when he spoke of his own sufferings, and of his 
activity and success in the cause of Christ, if he had 
spoken of them in such a way as too many speak of 
themselves, when they think that self-defence makes 
it justifiable. Yet, in these very passages where he 
raises his own character to the highest pitch of glory, 
every candid reader finds that he was the humblest 
man in the world. 

A supercilious and magisterial air in giving one's- 
sentiments on religious subjects, in admonishing, or 
reproving, or exhorting, tends not only to prevent 
the effect designed, but to embitter the spirit of those 
who seem to be insulted by such behaviour. Per- 
sons in stations of authority may claim the privile- 
ges of it. But the authority that we claim to our- 
selves, from the high thoughts that we entertain of 
©ur excellencies, or the respect that we suppose to 



THE COXVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 401 

be entertained for us, is very frequently a castle in 
the air. It will at least be disputed by those whom 
we humiliate by displaying it. Even those who are 
vested with indisputable authority, often find it use- 
ful to intreat, when they might command. Paul, in 
the exercise of his authority, set always before his 
eyes the meekness and gentleness of Christ. 

Beware of impertinent meddling with persons over 
whom you can pretend to no controul or influence. 
We have heard of a certain zealous Protestant, who, 
in a fit of zeal or of derangement, made a voyage to 
Rome that he might convert the Pope. I do not 
suspect that any of you will ever expose yourselves, 
or your profession, to ridicule by such absurdity of 
conduct. But there are meddlers, who expose them- 
selves to ridicule by attempts no less hopeless, to 
convert all their neighbours to their own way of 
thinking in religion. They are constantly labouring 
to make proselytes to their own religious party, and 
raising up enemies to it, as if it were hostile to 
die peace of every other. Such persons are com- 
monly those who are least fit to manage a eanse, but 
are very well qualified to bring it into dkrepufe. 

Keep wiihin the bounds of your station. "My 
~.rcn, ,? says the apostle James, "be not many 
>; rs." or many teachers, i; lest you should receive 
the greater condemnation.*' You may be sufficient- 
ly qualified to do good by your private converse, and 
yet totally -unqualified to be public instructors. If 
you think yourselves qualified, it is ten to one but 
you are single in your opinion ; or, if you are not, 
you ought to remember that (here is a difference be- 
tween qualifications aad a call. 
K k 2 



402 ©K THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

Beware of an overheated or a blind zeal. " It is 
always good to be zealously affected in a good thing.'* 
But many zealots have brought zeal under disrepute, 
by making it a pretence for impertinence, for evil 
surmisings 3 for rash judgments, for persecution and 
bloodshed. "The wisdom that is from above is first 
pure, then peaceable." True zeal is the fervour of 
charity under the guidance of knowledge and pru- 
dence. 

Make nothing worse than it is. The Pharisees, 
pretending to be holier than Christ, called him a 
wine-bibber, a glutton, a friend of publicans and sin- 
ners, because he sometimes accepted an invitation to 
dine from bad men, whom he wished to convert by 
his discourses, and a sabbath-breaker, because he 
did that good to men on the Sabbath-day, which they 
themselves would not have scrupled to do to a beast. 
If you make those things crimes which are not for- 
bidden by the law, you speak evil of the law, and 
judge the law; and, as a liar will not be believed 
when he speaks the truth, so those who make every 
thing a crime, will not be regarded when they justly 
reprove real crimes. 

It is to be confessed, that there is in our age great 
need to warn men against mistaking sins for innocent 
amusements, or matters of indifference. But if we 
would keep our feet from evil, we must turn neither 
to the right hand nor to the left. There is danger in 
being righteous overmuch, although there is greater 
danger perhaps in being overmuch wicked. 

Such is our weakness, that we are ever ready in 
avoiding one evil to rush upon another, and to deceive 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 403 

ourselves by false names given to our principles of 
action. When we are called to be wise as serpents. 
w r e are too ready to forget the harmlessness of the 
dove. Christian prudencels an excellent endowment, 
but let us beware of putting in its place the wisdom 
of the world. We must be afraid of doin^ any thing 
that may expose our holy profession to derision, but 
why should we be afraid of exposing ourselves to 
scorn for the honour of our profession ? Jesus wrought 
a miracle that he might not offend those who sought 
occasion of offence against him ; but he would not. at 
the instigation of the devil, change stones into loaves 
to satisfy his own hunger, nor would he exert his di- 
vine power to preserve his face from shame and spit- 
tins:, but suffered every indignity with patience, that 
he might accomplish our salvation. A due sense of 
the love of Christ in suffering and dying for us. would 
make us willing to die a thousand deaths rather than 
bring dishonour upon our religion by imprudent con- 
duct, or neglect an opportunity to gain a precious soul, 
to be to him for a name and for a praise.— Let us 
therefore. 

5. Endeavour to live continually under the impres- 
sions of those awful or pleasant truths which will 
have the most powerful influence upon us for dispo- 
sing us to seek first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness. 

Let us never forget that we came yesterday into the 
world, and must leave it to-morrow ; that we brought 
nothing into the world, and can carry nothing out 
-of it, but our good or evil works. Should we col- 
lect mountains of gold, of what use will they be to 



404 ON THE MEANS TO BE USE© FOR 

us when God requires our souls ? But should we con- 
vert one sinner from the error of his ways, it will be 
to us for joy and a crown of rejoicing in the day of 
the Lord Jesus. 

One of the holy fathers said, that these words still 
sounded in his ears, " Arise, ye dead, and come to 
judgment." The day of judgment will soon come. It 
will be probably a longer day than all the days and 
nights of our life put together. It will have eternal 
consequences of importance, exceeding all our appre- 
hensions. " Knowing the terrors of the Lord, we 
persuade men,' 5 says Paul. Knowing these terrors, 
let us eshort one another to flee from the wrath to 
come, whilst flight is yet possible. " Behold, now is 
the accepted time ^behold, now is the day of salvation.' 5 
O that we could persuade you, thoughtless sinner, not 
to receive the grace of God in yarn. 

Nothing ought to be a more frequent subject of our 
delightful meditation, than the love of God in Christ 
Jesus. The love of Christ constrained Paul to exert 
&uch zeal in his labours for the salvation of men, that 
he was thought by many to be beside himself. But 
the salvation of one soul was infinitely more than a 
compensation to him for all the reproaches that he 
could endure. We love God because he first loved 
us ? and it is vain for us to say that we love God whom 
we have not seen, if we do not love our brethren whom 
we have seen ; and if we love them, we will not with- 
out the sinccrest grief behold them walking in ways 
that lead to perdition. Beloved, if God so loved us, 
will we not love one another ? If he hath redeemed us 
from the lowest hdl ? nothing will give us greater de- 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 405 

light than to pluck our fellow sinners out of the fire of 
divine wrath. If Christ endured such anguish, and 
bore the curse of God for our deliverance, will any 
thing appear to us too grievous to be endured for the 
sake of precious souls, who must be happy or misera- 
ble for ever ? 

Finally, let us constantly depend on Jesus Christ 
for all needful supplies of grace and wisdom. It is his 
grace that must quicken us in his way, and animate 
us with zeal for the salvation of sinners. We must 
receive that wisdom from him that is absolutely neces- 
sary for winning souls. To every one of us is given 
grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ, 
and he will not withhold that grace from them that 
trust in him which is necessary for any of the servi- 
ces which he requires. Did he give his own blood 
for the salvation of souls, and will he withhold his help 
from those whose prevailing desire is to promote that 
work in which he so greatly delights ? " It hath plea- 
sed the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell, 
that out of his fulness we may receive, and grace for 
grace. M 



FINIS. 



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Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: June 2005 

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